Nihilism is the view that nothing exists. There are different kinds of nihilism; one can be a moral nihilist, for instance, holding that morality does not exist, or a religious nihilist, holding that God does not exist. The problem of the specious present supports a universal nihilism, the view that nothing whatsoever exists.

In order for something to exist it must have duration, it must exist for a certain amount of time. To say that something exists for no time at all, that at the very moment that it comes into existence it also passes out of it, is to say that it doesn’t exist at all. Unicorns exist for no time at all; so do square circles. Things that exist for no time at all don’t exist. In order for something to exist it must have duration.

The past and the future do not exist; they are not there, in the world. Perhaps the past once existed, and perhaps its effects can still be seen in the world today, but the past doesn’t exist now; if it exists now, then where is it? And perhaps the future will exist one day, but it doesn’t exist yet; again, if it exists now, then where is it? The past and the future clearly do not exist; the universe consists only of the gap between them, the present.

How large is the gap between the past and the future? What is the duration of the present? A minute? A second? A nano-second?

Clearly the present does not last as long as a minute. A minute consists of different temporal parts. First comes its beginning, then its middle, and then its end. Each of its parts occurs at a different time. If its beginning is present then its middle and end are future. If its middle is present, then its beginning is past and its end is future. If its end is present then its beginning and middle are past. If the present lasted as long as a minute then it would consist of past, present, and future elements, but that would be absurd; the present must be wholly present.

The same, though, could be said if the present were of shorter duration, lasting only a second, or even only a nano-second. In either case, the present would have temporal parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end. If its beginning were present then its middle and end would be future. If its middle were present, then its beginning would be past and its end would be future. If its end were present then its beginning and middle would be past. If the present has any duration at all then it consists of past, present, and future elements, but that, as I said before, would be absurd.

The present, then, has no duration; there is no gap between the past and the future. It has already been seen, though, that to say that something has no duration is to say that it does not exist. The present, then, like the past and the future, does not exist. If there is neither past, nor present, nor future, though, then what is there? Nothing. Nothing exists at all. Universal nihilism is true.

No offense Mega X, but these things are starting to get annoying. For this to be true, we would have to not exist. Since we cleary do, indirectly proven by the fact that you were here long enough to type that post, this is false.

As for the arguments involving time, that\'s irrelevent. The past is merely present moments gone by. Concerning the future, that\'s the only half true thing. The future does not exist. Humans created the concept of the future, not to mention theories about what it holds. Also, we humans do not have a unit of time small enough to properly define an instant in time. It\'s like trying to identify a specific pixel on an average computer monitor from a literal mile away with your naked eyes. It\'s just too small.

This is just systematic over analyzing coming to the wrong conclusion.

[Edited on 14-7-2005 by BladeMan.EXE]

Maybe you should have just one big topic of paradoxes, it would clear up space...I dunno, don\'t listen to \'Rito.

Eh, good idea Rito.

Your theory of Nihilism aside, you must realize that the concept of the measure and passage of time (I.e. Past, present, future) was artificially constructed by Humans sometime within the past 2000 years.

You claim that each instant passing by is nonexistent. That aside, true or untrue, a period of time is not coexistent with the events or actions that existed and took place at that certain time. Had Humans never created a measure of time, would we still exist? Certainly. If we did not know what an hour, minute, or second was and had never created a measure for each of them, would we still be on this Earth? Nay, would the Earth exist? Of course.

Your theory is similar to an hourglass. The grains of sand in the top are similar to the Human concept of the future, the ones on the bottom the past. Every single instant is represented by a single grain of sand passing through the narrow middle of the glass. Who is to say that any grain of sand that has or has not passed through that narrow middle has not existed?

Exactly.

Or perhaps I misinterpreted what you meant to say. Either way, I think I have defended my point.

Very interesting concept. =)