Ontological Distortions in Physics, Part 8 The Block Universe — Time as Illusion

The block universe picture, often associated with relativity, treats past, present, and future as equally real within a four-dimensional spacetime manifold. While mathematically coherent, this framework is often interpreted ontologically: time itself is an illusion, and change is merely apparent.

This is the distortion: a mathematical model of relational ordering misread as a claim about the nature of reality itself.

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The Physics Move

• Minkowski spacetime diagrams and relativistic formalisms depict events as a static block, implying a timeless “all-at-once” ontology.

• Some philosophical interpretations extend this to assert that becoming, flow, or temporality is not fundamental, despite being central to actualisation.

• Popular accounts often suggest that our experience of time is subjective or illusory, reinforcing the impression of a frozen, pre-determined universe.

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Why This Distorts Ontology

Time is perspectival and relational. Change and actualisation are real; the block universe conflates representation with reality, mistaking a convenient coordinate framework for the fabric of being.

The distortion lies in suppressing dynamism: relational processes are collapsed into a static manifold, obscuring the temporal actualisation of events.

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The Relational Reframing

From a relational standpoint:

• Past, present, and future are intelligible as phases of relational alignment, not as fixed points in a block.

• The flow of events reflects the ongoing actualisation of possibilities, not a mirage imposed on a frozen spacetime.

• Relativity remains valid as a tool for describing the ordering and constraints of events, but it does not abolish the reality of temporal becoming.

Thus, the block universe is intelligible — but only as a representation of relational structure, not as an ontological claim about the elimination of time.