It is often claimed that features of the spacetime of special relativity are inimical to the passage of time. In opposition
to this view, I show how the passage of time is to be understood in Minkowski spacetime. A (local, specious) present is construed
as an open set in the Alexandroff topology and the passage of time is a succession of presents along a timelike curve. Temporal
becoming is a local, ratherthan a global, phenomenon.
I offer some motivations for the view I propose, and I consider five objections that might be raised against it. For instance,
one general objection to the notion of the “flow” or passing of time is that one can not answer the natural question ‘How
fast does time “flow” or pass?’ I claim that Minkowski spacetime provides a natural answer to this question.