definition

Dinosaurs Are Actual But Not Presently Actual

Past entities like dinosaurs are real and actual in a way fictional entities like unicorns are not, even though they are not presently actual—the words 'real' and 'actual' have no restricting content (a 'real actual dog' is just a dog), and the apparent disagreement between presentism and eternalism often dissolves into a disambiguation of whether 'actual' means 'presently existing'.

definitionpending

Speaker

Tim Maudlin

Evidence Quote

we own a dog we own a real dog we own our actual dog we actually own a real actual dog all of those say the same thing the real and actual are just kind of rhetorical gestures

Source

318 - Physics PhilosophyMaking Sense with Sam Harris
Created: 6/14/2026, 1:58:49 AM

My Notes

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