Chapter 2: McTaggart’s Paradox and the A- and B-Theories of Time

Questions about time have long been among the most discussed and most perplexing questions in metaphysics. What is the nature of time? Is change a necessary feature of time? Is the passage of time from past to future an illusion? As long as these questions have been asked, they have been at the center of major debates not only within philosophy but also at its boundaries. Disputes about topics which, like time, are central to the sciences but nevertheless appear to raise serious metaphysical questions, when closely examined, can serve to highlight the boundaries between science and philosophy—in particular, between science and metaphysics.