What's the philosophical definition of 'Eternity'?

Question

I always thought eternity meant time going on forever without end; so, if you went to heaven (example) for eternity, the days would pass on by without end, the infinite passing of time. If you set a stopwatch it would just keep going and going, and never stop.

But I heard my father say recently that he believed eternity to be 'beyond' time; he likened it to the moment before sudden death when your whole life flashes before your eyes, and could seem to last forever whilst actually only being only a moment long. In your head you'd live it all through again, with infinite opportunities to change events and outcomes, whilst in reality time would still be playing out at the usual pace.

I hope you understand what I'm trying to convey (he explained it a lot better). What are your views/ opinions/ theories? Obviously I (nor my father) were being overly scientific and have no evidence to bolster our observations but we were just idly musing the days away- so what's your take? Thanks!

Answer 1

I subscribe to the notion of eternity as being beyond time. I believe ( without trying to sound weird) that when we reach the next plane, the concept of time and space as we know it will cease to exist it will be a non-issue. I believe thousands and thousands of years here will flash by in a moment. Or that maybe we will exist perepetually in a single moment, if thats not going too far,lol. But what im fairly certain of is the notions that we govern ourselves by in this place will be foreign and alien in the next life.

Answer 2

I provide the geometric analogy: Eternity transcends area and Time, the way a Line transcends a level, a airplane transcends a Line, area transcends a airplane, and area-Time transcends area. now may be the point at which period touches Eternity. we've restricted understanding about this; we do not even comprehend Time. maximum scientists imagine the universe we stay in likely had a beginning and could end, yet we are able to not teach it. i don't believe of you're going loopy, yet you've to go back to words with no longer knowledge each thing. there is not any damage in attempting to be sure it out, notwithstanding. As for who created God; if he grow to be created, he's not any longer God. God is the self-existent being. Any spinoff being isn't God.

Answer 3

Yeah, this is a really deep question.

Like you implied, the problem is that in order to define what eternity is, you have to define what TIME is. Is time relative or is it absolute? Is our experience of time the only experience possible?

If we believe time to be a necessary, linear development of reality, then it makes sense to think that eternity is just the extension of this timeline on and on into infinity.

On the other hand, some philosophers--the platonists in particular--believed that this "moving," "extending" nature of time was a sign of its imperfection. They believed that there must be some reality beyond this changing, shifting world. This would be a reality without time, where all moments would coexist simultaneously, without succeeding from one to another, without change. And that ultimate reality (beyond our human reality) was called eternity.

I guess that vision is closer to your father's conception, where your whole life flashes before your eyes. That said, I think that some might say that what your father is describing is more a slight taste of eternity, rather than eternity itself. After all, if that moment of timelessness really was eternal, why did it come to an end?

Answer 4

Eternity is forever on this earth time but in the realms of the afterlife it is a continuation of life and then we are born onto this earth again to learn our next load of life lessons to progress our souls.
In the world of spirit there is no time as we know it. a blink of an eye there can be hundreds of years here. Its only in this life w e have time which was created originally for farmers and sea faring men etc. It is the continuation of life on this earth and in other worlds beyond.

Answer 5

I do not know about the philosophical definition but I always thought that eternity meant infinity in terms of time. When we talk about infinities we are talking about numbers that have no end. It is hard to imagine since we do not come across such things in our daily lives. But I think we should not let our perceptions deceive us in these things. Human feelings and perceptions are one thing and reality is quite another. What we perceive may not be what is actually out there.
When we talk of infinities, we are talking about numbers that are bigger than anything that we can imagine. Think of the biggest number that you can imagine. Infinity is bigger than that number. In fact the number you imagined is precisely as far away from infinity as is the number '1'.
I think eternity is something similar but relates to time.

Answer 6

The Hebrew word for Eternity is " ad" meaning: everlasting-more,old,perpetually +world without end. One of the Greek words for eternal is "aionios" or "aion" meaning: an age; by extension "perpetuity" or "perpetual" (also used of past time, or past and future as well) eternal, forever,everlasting,always,ever,without end,evermore.
The eternity(as we understand it) doesn't begin until after Christ's second Advent.
The eternity as we understand it is more than what we as "flesh and blood humans" can perceive it to be. When the eternity begins we will all be in spiritual bodies,which do not grow old,or age as a flesh body does.Our spiritual bodies are millions of years old (from the beginning of the creation),not meaning the beginning of the age of the flesh,but from the foundation of the Earth.Think of your Spirit as the intellect of your soul,your "self", who you are inside.
The Earth is millions of years old, the Bible tells of it. Religion does not conflict with science, it supports it.However, science does conflict with religion.
I know that sounds confusing but there is much science (knowledge) which does not deserve the name, being only speculation.
science: to know (by experience, or effort) to acquire knowledge,become aquainted with; hence, to come or get to know,learn, or perceive.
Science has yet to prove that anything spoken of in the Bible is not factual.The Bible answers all of man's questions, "if you have eyes to see, and ears to hear". The answers are there waiting for "science" to catch up with the reality of their existence.

Answer 7

I always though of it as the first description, however the second one is an interesting viewpoint. As far as being able to change things, can't see it, although perhaps you could review the situation and see where you went wrong and see how the situation may have turned out if you had done something different. But, that could turn into a hell if you have to relive events over and over again.

Answer 8

I think therefore I am.
Yes the tree does make a noise when it falls over - I've seen other trees fall over and they make a noise. BUT.
Time stops when I die.
Eternity is fun to consider, like infinity. But it doesn't exist beyond a concept.

Revision: Was feeling very Nietchean (?) materialistic when I wrote above. Abstract questions offended me. NO BUTS!!!! (when will I learn)
Time does not stop when I die. My children, my grandchildren, my great-grandchildren (now there's a concept) will live on.

Eternity is fun to consider - like thinkng how do you know it's eternity - it mighgt stop any minute - is it like the size of the universe - TO GET A GRASP - consider Pi (mathematical concept) or GOOGLE - infinity HOTEL
Peace and tranquility

Answer 9

Time going on forever would describe infinity, not eternity. Eternity transcends time and space so that an eternal perception would allow all time (past-present-future) and all locations (here, there, everywhere) to be observed/experienced at once.

Answer 10

Eternity is the present moment that is simultaneously the past, present, and future - the nonlinear constant beyond linear time.

To "Be Here" is to be "Everywhere Aware", where the will and mind becomes nonlinear, and the soul consists from moment to moment in the now - in Eternity.