The nature of time and the existence of the past is a topic that has been explored and debated by philosophers, physicists, and scholars from various disciplines. Different perspectives exist regarding the ontological status of the past. I'll outline two commonly discussed viewpoints:
Presentism: Presentism is the view that only the present moment exists. According to this perspective, the past does not have any real existence. It's considered as a collection of memories, records, and historical artifacts, but not as a physically existing entity. In this view, the past has no objective reality beyond its influence on the present.
Eternalism: Eternalism, also known as the block universe theory, posits that the past, present, and future all exist equally and are equally real. According to this viewpoint, time is like a four-dimensional block, where every event that has occurred, is occurring, or will occur, exists permanently. The past is not considered as inaccessible but rather as part of the fabric of spacetime.
It's important to note that the question of whether the past physically exists or not goes beyond scientific knowledge and enters the realm of metaphysics and philosophy. Science can provide insights into the nature of time and how it behaves within the framework of physical theories, but it may not definitively answer questions about the ultimate existence or non-existence of the past.
Different philosophical and metaphysical perspectives offer various interpretations of time and the past, and ultimately, it may come down to personal beliefs and philosophical inclinations.