Debate on the existence of multiple present moments, suggesting implications for time theory.
This paper discusses whether there can be multiple present moments. After presenting some reasons for thinking that the question is worthwhile, I challenge several objections to its possibility: worries about the exclusivity of tense; the nature of change, tense logic and semantics; and the apparent tension between multiple presents and an open future. I conclude that at least one tense theory of time—my own ‘wave theory of time’—can accommodate the possibility of multiple present moments.
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Nikk Effingham (2026) studied this question.
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