Eternalism
Eternalism posits that past, present, and future events are equally real. This view contrasts with presentism and suggests that time is another dimension similar to space.
I. Time
| Extent | Infinite |
| Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Grain | Continuous |
| Freedom | Deterministic |
| Traversability | Linear |
| Dimensionality | One |
| Direction | Uni-directional |
Time is substantival and infinite — all moments in time exist equally in a four-dimensional "block universe." Past, present, and future are not ontologically different; the flow of time is an illusion produced by the observer's perspective. Time is continuous, linear, and uni-directional in experience, but in reality all temporal positions are permanently co-present. Eternalism treats time as a dimension analogous to space.
II. Space
| Extent | Infinite |
| Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Curvature | Curved |
| Dimensionality | Three |
| Locality | Local |
Space is substantival, infinite, and curved — it is one component of the four-dimensional spacetime block. Every spatial location at every time exists with equal reality. Space is local: interactions propagate through spacetime at finite speed. The curvature of space reflects general relativity's description of how mass-energy warps the fabric of spacetime.
III. Matter
| Extent | Finite |
| Ontological Status | Substantival |
| Conservation | Conserved |
| Dimensionality | Three |
| Locality | Local |
Matter is substantival, finite, and locally situated within the spacetime block — every material configuration at every time exists with equal reality. Conservation holds at each time-slice: the total matter-energy is preserved. Matter's worldlines are permanent features of the block universe, tracing complete histories from beginning to end.
IV. Observer
| Time Instance | Multiple |
| Space Instance | Single |
| Extent of Knowledge | Total |
| Retainment of Knowledge | Total |
| Physicality | Embodied |
| Agency | Passive |
| Number | Plural |
V. Energy
Energy is substantival and finite — it exists at all times within the block universe with equal reality. Conservation is strict: energy is preserved across every time-slice of the four-dimensional block. Dispersibility is irreversible, reflecting the entropy gradient that gives the block its experiential arrow of time.
VI. Information
All information at all times exists equally in the block universe — past, present, and future informational states are all equally real. Information is maximally conserved: nothing is ever truly lost.