The Collective Temporal Self: Apparent Temporal Passage in a Block Universe

This paper proposes an account of apparent temporal passage within an eternalist interpretation of spacetime. The complete person is conceived as a collective of temporally situated experiencing stages, each possessing its own local present. Apparent temporal passage is explained through asymmetric relationships between experience, memory, anticipation and retrospective interpretation, without requiring a moving present or a consciousness travelling through time. A single widening life-funnel represents cumulative experiential history, while distinguishing the continued existence of past experiences from their accessibility through memory. The model is subjected to critical objections concerning subjective continuity, thermodynamics, personal identity and explanatory redundancy. It is offered as a philosophical hypothesis, not as a new physical law. This investigation was developed through sustained human–AI collaboration between John Sendak and ChatGPT (OpenAI, GPT-6), within FLOW RESEARCH STUDIO.