Is the time’s flow an illusion? — the issue of the temporality of the conscious experience

Abstract

The contents of consciousness seem to relentlessly advance from the present moment to the past, bringing about the conscious impression of time’s flow. On the other hand, the image of the universe as described by the current state of knowledge in physics does not entail any notion of temporal passage. In this paper, I review the most popular current theories and hypotheses addressing this paradox, proposed by philosophers, psychologists, and physicists.