This is more about debate than a correct answer. But i find it intriguing and arrived at this philosophy after studying cosmology and the origins of the universe. I will select the best response, then send my own conclusion to that person.
2007-10-27 02:08:57 · 24 answers · asked by nurnord 7 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I have decided to amend this descriptive part in order to clear any ambiguity. Here are my thoughts (not necessarily my opinion or belief) that lead to this concept. If it is not possible to observe any event instantaneously, then you must agree that you have detected and experienced that event after it has happened. Therefore if nothing can be experienced in the present but only some time afterwards, must one then conclude that we are living in the past.......
I have much to offer myself to this debate but the point of my question is not to learn myself, but to know the opinions and thoughts of others.
2007-10-27 11:37:44 · update #1
light is the means of observation. what we see has already happened. what we observe are events of the past as we live them. so, no we live in the present observing what has been done in the past. this is not the same as living in the past otherwise we could not observe ourselves doing anything. light brings the discovery of what happened in the past. even if that occurrence was only a fraction of a second. The fact we can observe anything, shows we live in the present and not the past, otherwise we could not observe what is done in the past unless we were in the present.
consider a nova, the bright colored gases in the universe from dead stars. if we see one that is 30,000 light years from earth, the explosion occurred 30,000 years ago and the light is just now reaching us. if we were to travel to that point in space, the nova would not be there because it happened 30,000 years ago. we could not see it unless we were in this point at this time to see what happened in the past.
2007-10-27 02:33:40 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
you're question is very broad but I'll asnwer how I see it ..
hope you can follow me here..
yes and no. Since time in non-existent. A clock doesn't measure time.. it doesn't weigh time .. it doesn't measure its volume or mass .. the only thing a clock measures is .. its own hands moving. Since time is non-existent this means that there is no such thing as a *today* .. theres no such thing as Saturdays .. if there are no such thing as Saturdays then theres no such thing as a tomorrow .. no such thing as Octobers. If months dont exist .. then there is also no such thing as *years* .. no such thing as 2007. Our age doesn't exist either. Maybe thats where the saying comes from "You're only as old as you feel" comes from.
Time is just an illusion.. and its a hard concept for many to understand.. b/c you see everything happening in a sequence.. one thing after another. But really everything is happening simultaneously. The only thing that is consistent .. that we can be sure of .. is that the sun will rise and the sun will set. So .. if there is no such thing as a *tomorrow* then there is no such thing as a *future* .. since there is no such thing as *yesterday* then there is no such thing as a past. Meaning .. our lives are really just 1 long day .. with many naps heh. The terms *yesterday* and *tomorrow* are just ways to describe something that has already happened .. and something that is going to happen .. not necessarily describing what we call the *past* and *future* since those dont exist. So if the future doesn't exist .. then everything that is going to exist .. already does. For example .. a very horrible example .. in 1750 a corvette surely did not exist... but its components did. Everything you needed to build that corvette already existed in 1750 .. and so did everything else in the world.. and so does everything that is GOING to exist .. already does today.
Of course.. time is mans greatest invention.. without it .. our society wouldn't work. We also wouldn't be able to comprehend when something happened in history.
are we on the same page ? or was i way off ?
2007-10-27 10:56:46 · answer #2 · answered by nola_cajun 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
well their are two ways of looking at this question one being that everything we see and hear has already happened (light and sound takes time to reach us) even just a microsecond befor so everything we do is really a reaction to what has alreaddy happened, the other is more two pronged inn itself, 1 we are a culmination of the past experiences and theirfor the present person we are not is buily up of past us's so it could be said we are an embodyment of what was,
2 we can focus on certain memories and refeal the feelings of that memory (past haunting us so to speak).
personally i think with the exeption of the last one we are living in the future always trying to guess what is about to happen and so make arangements, timetables and so on to better guess what is going to be.
2007-10-27 09:32:34 · answer #3 · answered by manapaformetta 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
In our day to day lives, we are always living in the past, we learn from our mistakes because of the past things we have done. Some of us live in the past when they shouldn't, In the Bible I believe it says live in the day, don't look at yesterday or even tomorrow, but we should live for right now.
LIving in the past or refusing to give it up, can cause all sorts of problems we should be concerned about right now, thier may not be a tomorrow for many, We should accept the Lord in our lives if we want eternity, and do His will today.
2007-10-27 09:15:02 · answer #4 · answered by Lynn C 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It has been said that history repeats itself over and over.
In that sense, we do live in the past.
Every generation says that the generation after it is deteriorating. Remember how adults used to say that The Beatles were like The AntiChrist or whatever? They said the same thing about Elvis and his dance moves.
I've heard that people were horribly scandalized by the Beatles' tune "I Wanna Hold Your Hand." Man, they'd freak now if they heard some of the songs we listen to.
2007-10-27 09:38:22 · answer #5 · answered by batgirl2good 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I don't think we live in the past. But the past sometimes defines our future. It all depends on the character of the person.
For example, if something in the happened in the past that is defining how he lives in the present and in the future that i depends on the person how to react. To let that event define the present and the future or will that person stand firm and not make that event affect that person's life.
So, I would say only people who cannot navigate life the way that person wants it to go that the past will define how they will live.
2007-10-27 09:30:15 · answer #6 · answered by aka_gian 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Technically, yes. And technically, no. History always repeats itself, and, I believe, that, in the future, everything will go back to how it was before. The present is pretty much a repeat of the past, with certain, obvious changes, and the ancient past is most likely just what's going to happen in the future. I hope that made sense.
2007-10-27 09:21:50 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I'd like to say that I do not live in the past. As a person who has visions and dreams in one point in my life, than maybe a few days to a few years down the road in my life they come true it is almost like living in the past because those recent dreams or visions are in full view of what my life was like then, and now I see how that dream or vision had it's toll on my life now, and up until now.
2007-10-27 09:18:14 · answer #8 · answered by white_painted_lady 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I do not think so, the technology of this time is always moving forwards, allthough it,s nice at times to be nostalgic and wish for the good old days in are lives, the world will not stand still for us. I find myself asking what is the limit to humankinds intelligence and fool hardyness combined. Time will tell eh ?.
2007-10-27 10:02:11 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Your existence is always in the present.Only your mind lives in the past or in the future meaning [ thoughts about the future]
2007-10-27 09:30:05 · answer #10 · answered by lalachi 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋