5. Presentism.

5、即時主義

Time is something that we perceive as a reality. Of course, we usually divide it into the past, present and future. Presentism argues that the past and the future are imagined concepts while only the present is real.

我們將時間認為是某個現實存在的東西。當然，我們通常會把它劃分為過去、現在與未來。即時主義認為，過去與未來都是想像出來的概念，只有現在纔是真實的。

In other words, today’s breakfast and every word of this article will cease to exist after you finish reading it until you open it to read it again. The future is just as imaginary because the time cannot exist before and after it happened, as claimed by St. Augustine.

換句話說，今天的早餐和本文中的每一個字都將在你讀完它之後就不復存在，直到你再次打開它、閱讀它。未來也同樣的虛幻，因為據聖奧古斯丁所稱，時間無法存在在它發生的之前與之後。

 

6. Eternalism.

6、永恆主義

Eternalism is the exact opposite of presentism. This is a philosophical theory that says that time is multi-layered. All layers of the time exist simultaneously, but the measurement is determined by the observer. What they see depends on which point they are looking at.

永恆主義與即時主義完全相反。這個哲學理論說時間是多層次的。所有時間層都是同時存在的，但是大小卻是由觀察者決定。他們所看到的取決於他們正在注視著哪個時間點。

Thus, dinosaurs, Queen Victoria and Justin Bieber all exist simultaneously but can only be observed from a specific location. If one takes this view of reality, then the future is hopeless and the deterministic free will is illusory.

因此，恐龍、維多利亞女王和小賈斯汀都是同時存在的，但卻只能從特定的位置觀察到。若一人接受了這種對現實的看法，那麼未來毫無希望可言，決定論者所認為的自由意志都是虛假的。

 

7. The Brain in a Jar

7、缸中之腦

The “brain in a jar” thought experiment is a question discussed by thinkers and scientists who, like most people, believe that one’s understanding of reality depends solely on their subjective feelings.

「缸中之腦」思想實驗是思想家與科學家討論的一個問題，他們和大多數人一樣，相信一個人對現實的理解完全取決於他們的主觀感受。

So, what is the essence of this thought experiment? Imagine that you are just a brain in a jar that is run by aliens or mad scientists. How would you know? And can you truly deny the possibility that this is your reality?

那麼，這個思想實驗的本質是什麼？想像一下，你只是一個被外星人或瘋狂科學家養在缸中的大腦。你又怎麼會知道？而你真的能夠否認這個就是現實的可能性嗎？

This is a modern interpretation of Descartes’ evil demon problem. This thought experiment leads to the same conclusion: we cannot confirm the actual existence of anything except our consciousness. If this seems to sound reminiscent of the movie “The Matrix“, it is only because this idea was part of the very basis of the story. Unfortunately, in reality, we have no red pills…

這是對笛卡兒惡魔難題的現代詮釋。這個思想實驗得出了同樣的結論：除了我們的意識之外，我們無法確認其他事物是否真實存在。若這聽起來會勾起你對電影《駭客任務》的回憶，這只是因為這個想法是這個故事的基礎之一。不幸的是，在現實中，我們卻沒有紅色藥丸可以選……