The Passage of Time in the Block Universe

ABSTRACT This paper presents an account of the mind‐independent and non‐dynamic passage of time that is consistent with the block universe theory and central features of our experience of time. Although a minimalist account of temporal passage, it provides substantial answers to core questions about the basis, workings, and explanatory power of temporal passage. In connection to the basis of temporal passage, my account proposes that temporal passage finds a basis in both the necessary and contingent features of the ontological structure of the block universe. The workings of the passage of time will be connected to the relationship between the entropy boundaries and the occupation of entities and events at different moments in the block universe. Lastly, it will follow from my account that the passage of time provides the explanatory basis for not only the earlier than and later than relations but also the direction of time.