Timing & Time Perception 2 (2014) 325–338 brill.com/time The Varieties of Presence: Hierarchical Levels of Temporal Integration Carlos Montemayor 1,* and Marc Wittmann 2 1 Department of Philosophy, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132, USA 2 Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health, Wilhelmstr. 3a, 79098 Freiburg, Germany Received 10 February 2014; accepted 10 May 2014 Abstract We propose a hierarchical, three-level analysis of the present, in terms of simultaneity of events, expe- rienced presence, and an extended mental presence containing the narrative self. The literature on the philosophy, psychology and neuroscience of time consciousness does not precisely distinguish these va- rieties of presence: first, a functional moment of perception in the range of milliseconds defines what is simultaneous and successive. Below a certain threshold events are processed as co-temporal. Secondly, the experienced moment of two to three seconds is related to a temporal-processing mechanism enabling conscious experience of the present moment. Thirdly, the continuity of experience is formed by working memory in the range of multiple seconds leading to the sense of mental presence over time, generating a temporal platform for the narrative self. These varieties of presence help solve puzzles pertaining to dura- tion and simultaneity. Keywords Presence, psychological present, temporal integration, time consciousness, memory for time 1. Introduction: the Puzzles of the Subjective Present and Duration We experience the continuous and ‘relentless’ passage of time, but we also expe- rience events at the present moment, now. Phenomenological analysis points to this dual and seemingly paradoxical aspect of temporality, a feeling of presence and of unitary nowness, on the one hand, and the experience of a continuous and extended stream of events over time, or felt duration, on the other hand. This is the * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: cmontema@sfsu.edu  Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2014 DOI:10.1163/22134468-00002030