Existential Realism (ER) is a simple but powerful way to think about time and existence. It asks: What truly exists right now? And what is still real, even if it no longer exists—or doesn’t exist yet? This framework helps us make sense of our lives, our choices, and even the universe itself.
ER in a Nutshell
Most theories of time do not distinguish between what is real and what exists. They typically ask whether the past or future is real or not. Existential Realism resolves this by introducing a fundamental distinction: only the present exists, but both past and future are real. This allows us to speak meaningfully about past and future events as real, even though they do not exist now.
