Alisaca, Ryan Vincent F.

Title: A critique on McTaggart’s Time Paradox in the light of the Aristotelian concept of time
and change.

Abstract:

Time is already a common concept for us. In fact, time has been an integral part of our
spontaneous conviction that we don’t seem to put a second thought about each moment which
passes, and upon the moments which has been and which will be, and accept conveniently the
fact that, indeed, time does exist as evident in our experiences of change. However,
McTaggart, upon closer examination on time, has discovered a paradox which may well
serve as proof of its unreality. But our experience and consciousness tells us that time, insofar
as there is change, exists. This is undeniable, and the fact that we actually immediately accept
time as something part of our lives tells us that time, because it is evident in our experience,
exists (at least we assume it to be). The unreality of time would actually mean reality’s
unreality, and everything which we have acknowledge as true will no longer hold any value.
Aristotle, being one of the philosophers who considered reality as it is, may be able to give us
the best lenses with which we might see and criticize McTaggart’s paradox.