Moving spotlight theory of time

Not to be confused with Attentional shift § The spotlight and gradient theories.

The moving spotlight theory of time is a theory of time which describes past, present and future all co-existing, but only one moment in time being present at any given moment - as if picked out by a spotlight which moves from moment to moment. In this way, it is a compromise between the A-theory and B-theory of time, in which the co-existence of all times is a form of eternalism, and the spotlight itself a form of presentism.^[1]

Numerous variations of the theory have been put forward.^[2][3] Although it has been out of fashion for some time, the idea has recently been studied by Ross P. Cameron and Brandon Skow.^[3]

The moving spotlight theory can be extended to cover not only the distinction between one time and another, but also the distinction between one consciousness and another.^[4] A variant of this theory is a principal component of the plot of Fred Hoyle's novel October the First Is Too Late, which combines the idea of the moving spotlight with open individualism.