Philosophy of time?

Question

what is time? have you ever thought about it? how can time EXIST?

existance is majorly defined for objects. for example an apple can exist. a car can exist. an atom can exist. but what does it really mean to say time exists?

is there an outside existence?

time is related to space as a fourth demention but in reality is it even possible? a demention in the same coordinations as space? It's hard for me to see how a constant cocept such as space can be related to a constantly-chanting concept such as time.

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What are you views on this? How do you define time? could it be just a human perception?

Answer 1

"Time" as "fourth demention"--great ;)

While time is hypothesized to begin at the Planck level per more minute movements of geometrized fields at 10 -^99 cm., which is a modern reformulation of Plato's notion of time as a moving energy expressing Eternality. The neurophysiological aspect is related to patterns of neurons; it is also noted by e.g. Husserl as triune (objective, inner, and a third level). Similarly, Brouwer notes pre-verbalizable mathematic awareness as a "move of time."

You might find http://www.integralscience.org/abouttime.html "worthwhile" (in the "kairos" or "inner sense/innocence" which imports transcendent momentum qua return to Source, Good, per right choice and energy-in-motion, higher e-motion, inspiration).

Additionally, "Climb the Highest Mountain," Mark Prophet, has some insights and clues about time, as does http://www.divinecosmos.com

kind regards,

j.

Answer 2

When we talk about time, we are really talking about CHANGE. Hours, minutes, days, fortnights, and so on are merely standard units of change so we can compare other changes around us. Don't forget one of the classic conundrems of time - if nothing changes (or nothing is present) does time exist? No.

There is no time as a dimension. When we talk about regions of space, all the points within it exist simultaneously. The only point in time we have ever known to exist is NOW. There is no reason to believe that there exists some other time-point with another universe located at it... not to mention huge or infinite numbers of them. There has never been any travel to of from such hypothetical universes, and even the obscure physics theories which allow 'time travel' actually just make 'now' slightly more complex than it seems.

If you like, it is possible to re-write all of science WITHOUT any reference to standard units of change, just like it is possible to define the three spatial dimensions in a variety of ways. The only reason to use one system or another is for ease of use and consideration.

Time as change certainly exists. Time as a dimension certainly doesn't.

Answer 3

Time is not the fourth dimension. The fourth dimension is actually a strange cross section type view of the other three dimensions. It is so slight that it is invisible to the naked eye, but it exists.

Time is not just a human perception. Different beings, however, perceive time in different ways and it is relative to your actual make up. All things exist because of a Creator or some creation. That is why it exists. Can I understand it at this point, no. I don't even know how to set my computer to daylight savings time.

Answer 4

This is interesting as I've thought about this off and on over the years. I've not thought a lot about whether time exists, but rather, more about the nature of time. I do believe that there is an outside existence, that time is finite in a sense - and that outside of our perception of time there is timelessness. For me this entire line of thought is tied to spirituality. I believe in the God of the Bible and when He says that His Name is I AM (the english translation) - I believe that what He is saying is that He exists outside and above the four dimensions. So, He is omnipresent, omniscient, etc. because He exists outside of space and time.

To model it cognitively, I think about time and the other dimensions as frames in an old-fashioned movie reel. We are in each frame and can "remember" what happened before, but cannot see what will happen next. To move from one place to another, we must move in the intervening spaces in the reel. But, we only exist on that reel. Yet, someone who exists outside (to extend the metaphor - the projectionist) can see all of the reel at once, can pick it up, even manipulate it - touch one frame then another. If the people within the reel were living, all of this would appear to be mysterious because they are bound within the constraints of the frame.

I'm not sure though, if the dimension would have the same coordinates as space - I've never thought about that much and at first glance, I don't really see why the two would necessarily be related in that I've never really thought about time as having coordinates. My probably flawed metaphor would certainly suggest that it does. I do think that our perception of time influences the way that we experience it - but I do believe that time exists objectively and apart from human perception (kind of like the tree in the forest - if it falls does it make a sound - if there is no human - does time still exist?)

Answer 5

You shouldn't think that regarding time as being the fourth dimension is a mistake. Being a dimension means that whatever is going on in it has absolutely nothing to do with what is going on in other dimensions. It just happens to be that 3 dimensions are part of something combining them to something we call 'space'. And it happens to be that we can add one more thing to it called 'time', to describe the 'world'. Time is not an object which you can take in your hands, it is an dimension.

I don't know how good you are in math, but can you grab an x-axis? No. It is just a way to orientate yourself. You cannot grab it, neither can you grab space, but it is still there. Same with time.

You see how limited mankind is? We have science to make things easier for ourselves, but we don't know what it really is.

Answer 6

I have thought about it, and while driving to work several years back, it came to me. Since nothing existed before the Big Bang, then there was no time. Hence if time began at the moment of the BB, then the answer is simple. Time is simply the measure of the expansion of the Universe. Time has nothing to do with us, except what little of it we observe.

Answer 7

I think it has to be just a human perception, unless there are any aliens out there who have watches, because untill humans existed, there was no concept of it. Everything else just existed.

Answer 8

For a deep explanation of how we perceive time, read Edmund Husserl's "Phenomenology of Internal Time Consciousness." You won't question time anymore.