Growing Block Universe
Does the past exist while the future does not — yet?
The past is real and growing. The future is not yet. A compromise that preserves becoming.
The proposition, plainly stated
A theoretical proposition with empirical implications. Here's what it actually says.
The growing block view is a compromise between presentism and the block universe: the past is real and fixed, the present is the leading edge, and the future does not yet exist. Reality literally accumulates as new moments come into being. C.D. Broad and Michael Tooley are the main defenders; the position attempts to preserve the felt 'flow' of time while keeping the past fully real.
The strongest arguments in favour
Before examining the objections — here are the reasons thoughtful people take this seriously, regardless of where it ultimately lands.
- 01Preserves the asymmetry of past and future.
- 02Defended in detail by Michael Tooley and others.
- 03Captures something of common-sense temporal experience.
The strongest objections
Now the other side. These are the most compelling reasons to remain skeptical.
- 01Inherits relativity-of-simultaneity problems.
- 02Defining the 'edge' of becoming is technically difficult.
- 03Minority position among philosophers of physics.
Where this stands
Having seen the best case on both sides, here is our overall read.
An attempt to keep the becoming of time real while accepting the past as fixed. Defended by Tooley and others. Has some of the same problems with relativity as presentism.
That intermediate positions between strict block and strict presentism are coherent.
That the future is genuinely open or unreal.
Phenomenon vs interpretation
The signature distinction. We score the underlying observation separately from the metaphysical framework usually attached to it.
Evidence the reported observation is real.
Evidence the bigger explanation is correct.
Headline score (defaults to phenomenon score for phenomena).
Distance between data and conclusion.
What a thoughtful person might do with this
Hold time models loosely; the picture is unsettled at the foundations.
How belief in this can go wrong
Sometimes used to support strong claims about open future that the model doesn't actually justify.
Audit trail
The 11 internal criteria informing the headline scores. They're not arithmetically averaged — they're the audit trail.
Related claims
Sources & Further Reading
Our goal is to link to original studies, academic sources, and serious critiques wherever possible. Scores are provisional until sources are verified.
Primary sources
Explains what each of the time-models actually claims before any physics is brought in.
Being and Becoming in Modern Physics
Direct treatment of the physics-of-time question — exactly the territory the block-universe claim lives in, without reducing the debate to a slogan.
Further reading
Being and Becoming in Modern Physics
The standard reference for the relativity-based case for a block universe and a useful counterweight to overly simple 'physics proves fate' claims.