The Metaphysics of Time

Time is one of the most difficult subjects in philosophy. Some philosophers believe that time is a reality and others assume it as an illusion. McTaggart has denied the reality of time. His argument is very famous in the philosophy of time and thus the recent discussions about time are affected by his argument. Events and moments, he thinks, can occur in time in two forms and thus there are two series of time: 1) A series in which two events and moments are ordered as past, present and future, 2) B series in which the events and moments are ordered as a priori and a posterior. The A series is necessary for time because without A series time does not exist. At the same time, A series leads to contradiction and time cannot exist as a real thing. Only one real and non-temporal series, he believes, exists but it appears as time series to us by our perception.