does the past exist???

Technically, Time itself does not exist, it is merely an illusion created by humans to keep track of things, it is but an organizer so that we can look into the past and see what has happened and what has resulted from it. So, no the past doesn't exist for, to exist is to be here right now, at the moment, and the past is the exact opposite of such a definition. Only physical objects can "exist" persay but feelings exist within ourselves so, an emotion exists as long as someone is always feeling it somewhere in the world.

Originally posted by Shakyamunison
It’s OK to not know something. However, if we build models to represent what we don’t know and then use those to build even more models, then we can be lead astray and come to conclusions that are not supported by observations in nature (just read about Kepler). Sense Philosophy leads us down roads where conclusions can not easily be verified by observations in nature; we should always keep in mind what we do not know. When I talk to my mentor, he will make me brake all of my ideas down to their most basic concepts and then challenges me to understand these things first (however, this forum is a lot more fun).

Yup, thats the way I think, I usually worry much more on the definitions than building models without understanding its principles. Thats why I think "energy" is a good concept, it explains many things, and it appears to be a very fundamental concept. I think we could even try to find something more fundamental which energy depends on, but this "search" will never finish. This could be a limitation of the logic itself, and maybe its not possible to reach an "end"(theres actually a theorem on mathematics that says that the logic is "limited" this way).

Originally posted by eleveninches
THe past existED, but how can you really prove that.??
The human memory is NOT perfect. THe past doesnt exist at the moment, it is an imaginary concept created by the mind of humans.

Originally posted by Atlantis001
Yup, thats the way I think, I usually worry much more on the definitions than building models without understanding its principles. Thats why I think "energy" is a good concept, it explains many things, and it appears to be a very fundamental concept. I think we could even try to find something more fundamental which energy depends on, but this "search" will never finish. This could be a limitation of the logic itself, and maybe its not possible to reach an "end"(theres actually a theorem on mathematics that says that the logic is "limited" this way).

We are in agreement.

Imagination is what we need to bridge the gap. Have you heard of a place (maybe another dimension) where all are known? I thank I should start a new thread on this subject.

of coarse the past exists. you're memories arent just your own. you share memories with family, friends, etc. they wouldnt have the same past as you if it didnt exist.

St. Augustine wondered what it is that makes the past and the future real. How can the past and the future exist, when the past is already gone and the future is yet to come? For men, both the past and the future are abstractions, constituted by the human mind. For human beings, they only exist in virtue of the present. In men' s experience, the present is all that exists. We will always exist in the present.
If you would travel back to the past, it would no longer be the past but the present.

It' s hard to imagine a dimension where the past and the future, as well as the present all exist equally, in spite of Einstein' s relativity theory.

Is the past real? Yes.
Does it still exist? No.

The question isn't "Does the past still exist?" its "Does the past exist?"
Of course the past doesn't still exist, it's in the past. But the past itself does exist, or the present couldn't exist either; nor could the future. They are all interdependent.

Perhaps we should first wonder what sort of concept existence/exists is and what the explication might be.

Existence is just being. To be. English sucks.
The past is, even though it isn't anymore.

define "exist"

Does the past exist???....Not any more.

the past only exist with daylight savings time the clocks all say 12:59am then BAM! 12:00am you just jumped into the past so there it does exist but only for one hour a year

Everything we interact with is from the past, all the light that comes to our eyes take a time to arrive, so the greater the distance things are from us, the earlier they happened. Stars are very distant from us, so they are very in the past. My clothes are very near me so they are very close to the present.

Past doesn't exist. only now exists.
Our idea of the past are momeries. and I think it is very important to have memories because without them we're getting cut of the reality and alone.

The past doesn't exist.

The past doesn´t excist, it did excist in the past, but won´t excist again.

The past doesn't exist, not even the future ... only present exist.

The past "existed"..

You can also look at it as the vapors of the past linger on, but no longer exist in our time to perceive...Though still exists....

The past existed, it was real before. It is the first states that lead to our actual states that generates the present. The past is just a logical necessity, for example : if something moves to the right, it necessarily was more to the left in the past.