These are two very important theories of time that many philosophers have studied, and as you might have guessed, these two theories of time are considered opposites.
What is Presentism?
Presentism is the belief that only the present is real. The future is not considered real. Strangely enough, the past is only considered real, when the present facts make the past real. Presentists believe that we are so immersed into time that we cannot perceive a world without time, and can only describe time as now. Here, to make it easier for you to understand, Presentism is pretty much saying that anything that exists currently, for example, Earth, phones, memes, etc., are real. However, things that do no exist anymore more, such as Dinosaurs or Socrates are not real anymore. This includes futuristic things too, such as Martian outposts or [insert any non-existant futuristic item here]. In fact, anything that lacks the property of being present is pretty much unreal.
What is Eternalism?
Eternalism is pretty much the opposite of Presentism. Eternalists believe that events in time have a temporal relation between themselves. They do not believe in a specific past, present, or future, since they believe that any certain period of time can be represented as past, present, and future. Again, to make this easier to understand, this means that Eternalism is the belief that all points in time are real. For example, Socrates, Martian outposts, and dinosaurs are all considered real, although they don't exist or can't be experienced presently. This means that our past, present, and future are fixed, unable to be changed in anyway or form.
So, why are they important?
The theories of Presentism and Eternalism are an important key factor to our society because it shapes the backbones and cultural aspects of our community. For example, the belief in Eternalism might remind you of Fatalism. If anyone believes in fate and not free-will, then they should be an Eternalist. Eternalists also describes time compared to one another, therefore, eternalists agree with the fact that people experience different speeds of an event. For example, this might be a boring website and make you feel like time is going really slowly, or this might be an amazing website and make you feel like time is flying by. This means that everyone experiences events differently, therefore coming to the conclusion that time is relative. We keep track of history, to remember the past, and plan for the future. However, Presentism states that none of it matters since the present is only the real thing. What's the point of worrying about the past or the future if they are not real? The present is the only important part of a presentist.
What is Presentism?
Presentism is the belief that only the present is real. The future is not considered real. Strangely enough, the past is only considered real, when the present facts make the past real. Presentists believe that we are so immersed into time that we cannot perceive a world without time, and can only describe time as now. Here, to make it easier for you to understand, Presentism is pretty much saying that anything that exists currently, for example, Earth, phones, memes, etc., are real. However, things that do no exist anymore more, such as Dinosaurs or Socrates are not real anymore. This includes futuristic things too, such as Martian outposts or [insert any non-existant futuristic item here]. In fact, anything that lacks the property of being present is pretty much unreal.
What is Eternalism?
Eternalism is pretty much the opposite of Presentism. Eternalists believe that events in time have a temporal relation between themselves. They do not believe in a specific past, present, or future, since they believe that any certain period of time can be represented as past, present, and future. Again, to make this easier to understand, this means that Eternalism is the belief that all points in time are real. For example, Socrates, Martian outposts, and dinosaurs are all considered real, although they don't exist or can't be experienced presently. This means that our past, present, and future are fixed, unable to be changed in anyway or form.
So, why are they important?
The theories of Presentism and Eternalism are an important key factor to our society because it shapes the backbones and cultural aspects of our community. For example, the belief in Eternalism might remind you of Fatalism. If anyone believes in fate and not free-will, then they should be an Eternalist. Eternalists also describes time compared to one another, therefore, eternalists agree with the fact that people experience different speeds of an event. For example, this might be a boring website and make you feel like time is going really slowly, or this might be an amazing website and make you feel like time is flying by. This means that everyone experiences events differently, therefore coming to the conclusion that time is relative. We keep track of history, to remember the past, and plan for the future. However, Presentism states that none of it matters since the present is only the real thing. What's the point of worrying about the past or the future if they are not real? The present is the only important part of a presentist.