Is it possible to travel back in time?

Answer 1

no

Answer 2

One question that is relevant here is whether time travel is permitted by the prevailing laws of nature. This is presumably a matter of empirical science (or perhaps the correct philosophical interpretation of our best theories from the empirical sciences). But a further question, and one that falls squarely under the heading of philosophy, is whether time travel is permitted by the laws of logic and metaphysics. For it has been argued that various absurdities follow from the supposition that time travel is (logically and metaphysically) possible. Here is an example of such an argument.

(1) If you could travel back in time, then you could kill your grandfather before your father was ever conceived. (For what's to stop you from bringing a gun with you and simply shooting him?)
(2) It's not the case that you could kill your grandfather before your father was ever conceived. (Because if you did, then you would ensure that you never existed, and that is not something that you could ensure.)
(3) You cannot travel back in time.

Another argument that might be raised against the possibility of time travel depends on the claim that Presentism is true. For if Presentism is true, then neither past nor future objects exist. And in that case, it is hard to see how anyone could travel to the past or the future.

Answer 3

I think "time" as we know it, is as devours as our personality in the sense of, its how we let our selves to interpret time. For some people time flashes before them, for other it is slow motion, this means time is not as ridged or definite as we think. So if time is more of ones interpretation then we can and do travel back to a memory and react to it in a fashion the may change what the overall out come may be. Just to the opposite of that is traveling forward through what we understand to be "deja vu" entailing that we have been there before. Rather then finding a machine to do this for us maybe we need to rethink what time travel really is, and are we already doing it in small little vacations? After all, our construction make up is just light, the travels long and far.

Answer 4

I don't think so. If that was possible then the future time I live in would not have events flowing in a logical way. For instance, I start a barbeque fire and it works then it doesn't, then it works...and so on. Will I get my grilling done? Or to watch Mom's face change from one to another....wouldn't that be bizarre to live in a future of multiple possibilities ? Because travelling back in time can affect the future and if a lot of people did that a lot of different futures would be happening in this reality.

Answer 5

Out of what technology we have at the moment, it is not possible to travel back in time. The only thing we have from the past are history books and our own memories. But who knows, i suppose it could be possible some day.

Answer 6

One's answer would depend upon one's foundational conviction about reality's construct. If the universe (and time) are closed systems in that the amount of mass present in the universe cannot change, then time travel cannot be possible unless the precisely matching amount of mass in the future or past is displaced at precisely the same moment the mass in the present is projected into it.

One would need to have a reality construct that allows for the introduction (or stuffing) of mass into the new time-line or reality and that presents problems of interaction with mass of a differing weight or signature. There's an excellent description of this effect in C.S. Lewis' apology, "The Great Divorce" (which has nothing to do with civil marriage or its dissolution, btw). I highly recommend this little book.

And I really love questions and discussions about this subject! woo-hoo!

Answer 7

Assuming the “Big Bang Theory” is true. We would need to take the origin (central point) for all time. Then time would be able to measure units and we’d be closer to time travel.

Think of “Time” as a tree trunk. When a tree is born, it has a small trunk. As the tree grows, a circle of rings is added to the tree’s trunk. Each year the tree is thicker. Now, when you cut the tree you can examine the “Tree Rings” to measure droughts, and fruitful years. The “Big Bang” theory indicates that we’re moving away from the center point (origin point) at a constant speed. So, in addition to manipulating time, we would need a clear understanding (a TRUE Map) of time and space. Without this, we may be able to travel back in time, but not have a place to land (we’d be in space) because we didn’t travel our physical being closer to the point of origin in harmony with time cordination.

Answer 8

Depends on what you mean by "possible" and "time." Let us assume that the A-series theory of time is correct rather than the B-series theory. If the former is correct, then time travel is not possible (in point of fact). But if the B-series of time is correct, I don't see anything to prevent someone from physically traveling "back" in time since instead of thinking of time as past, present and future, we would think of time in terms of earlier than, consequent with and later than. As I understand the B-theory, there is no metaphysical (ultimately real) distinction between past, present and future (as we normally label these things). The B-series of time view appears to conflate past, present and future. Then again, I could be wrong.

Answer 9

According to some who have experienced "reality shifts," this does occur but only for immediate past moments according to their descriptions.

My experience with time anomalies has been related to momentarily reframing the past which has caused a dimensional shift, a kind of portal in which one experience of reality closes down and another entirely different opens. The experience is more related to folding space and the expected time construct disappearing as a result.

Answer 10

Yes life travels in a straight line, but what if there's a curve in time and space and we can reach out and touch the past? Do black holes cause all mass, including light to fall into a singularity? Does that include time too? hmmm, i wonder>

Answer 11

no, most current theories only allow travel into the future.