eternalismo

Eternalism, also known as four-dimensionalism or the block universe theory, is a position in the philosophy of time according to which all points in time—past, present, and future—are equally real. The universe is conceived as a four-dimensional spacetime block, and objects are extended in time just as they are in space. The flow of time is taken to be an illusion of perspective rather than an objective process of becoming; there is no single, universal 'now' moving through the world. The term is rendered as eternalismo in Portuguese and reflects this view.

Eternalism contrasts with presentism, which holds that only present events exist, and with the growing block theory, which posits that the past and present exist while the future does not yet exist. A key motivation for eternalism is its compatibility with the theory of relativity: since simultaneity is relative, there is no absolute present. In this view, persistence through time and causation are explained by the way objects are extended in the temporal dimension.

Philosophical implications include reassessing free will, determinism, and temporal becoming. Critics argue that eternalism clashes with everyday intuition that time passes and that genuine becoming occurs. Proponents often respond with compatibilist readings of freedom or by distinguishing experiential time from ontological time. Variants and related positions include the growing block theory and the so-called B-theory of time, both debated within analytic philosophy.