Are space and time the only fundamental constants of reality?: Philosophy Forums

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Are space and time the only fundamental constants of reality?

FloydMcHenry
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Posted 10/29/09 - 05:35 PM: Subject: My First Question	#1
Are space and time the only fundamental constants of reality? -Human experience is a coincidence of time and space. -Human perception of reality comes from an understanding of how events are ordered over time as well as the ability to relate these events in space. -Time is constant and unchanging; space is finite and wholly relative. -In this sense, the act of being is having the capacity to manipulate space as time passes. Edited by FloydMcHenry on 10/29/09 - 06:12 PM. Reason: Space is not infinite, not sure what I was thinking there.
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Kant Chocula
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Posted 10/29/09 - 05:52 PM:	#2
FloydMcHenry wrote: Are space and time the only fundamental constants of reality? I am not sure what you are asking. In what way are space and time constant? FloydMcHenry wrote: -Human experience is a coincidence of time and space. I would agree if you mean "Human experience is not necessary." FloydMcHenry wrote: -Human perception of reality comes from an understanding of how events are ordered over time as well as the ability to relate these events in space. I think you may be putting the cart before the horse. You are not separating the fact that time and space are human perceptions of reality. In effect, you have defined perception in terms of perception. Too tight of a circle. FloydMcHenry wrote: -Time is constant and unchanging; space is infinite and wholly relative. Current scientific data suggests otherwise. FloydMcHenry wrote: -In this sense, the act of being is having the capacity to manipulate space as time passes. How do we manipulate space? In what sense is time "passing?"
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reincarnated
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Posted 10/29/09 - 07:49 PM:	#3
Are space annd time "constant"? I don't think so. Science recognises certain constants (in terms of their universal conservation) such as momentum, energy and spin, as well as fundamental constants such as Planck's constant, the gravitational constant, the speed of light in vacuo, etc etc. But I've never seen space and time referred to as "constants"
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mattmark
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Posted 10/31/09 - 07:30 PM:	#4
"You are not separating the fact that time and space are human perceptions of reality." They're more than that, since it would be pointless to talk of perception without duration or a perceiver without extension. I don't have the feeling that FM means 'constant' in the sense that the speed of light is a constant (as time, we're told, is not), but that time and space are inferrable prerequisites of experience (Kantian categories, in effect).

stax
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Posted 10/31/09 - 10:39 PM:	#5
Time must be a constant, otherwise there is no causality, actions need time, and consequences need time. Without time there is no action or reaction. If your are isolating essentials in the universe, it would have to be time.
"Man can do what he wills but he cannot will what he wills." Arthur Schopenhauer "To convince someone of the truth, it is not enough to state it, but rather one must find the path from error to truth." Ludwig Wittgenstein "Philosophy is like trying to open a safe with a combination lock: each little adjustment of the dials seems to achieve nothing, only when everything is in place does the door open." Ludwig Wittgenstein

mattmark
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Posted 11/02/09 - 05:33 PM:	#6
"Time must be a constant..." Not since Einstein. The notion that both time and distance are relative has been woven into the fabric of physics for a while now. Time passes at different rates for different observers at different speeds.

wuliheron
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1 of 1 people found this post helpful Posted 11/02/09 - 08:36 PM:	#7
mattmark wrote: "Time must be a constant..." Not since Einstein. The notion that both time and distance are relative has been woven into the fabric of physics for a while now. Time passes at different rates for different observers at different speeds. It never ceases to amaze me just how many people are totally oblivious to the revolutionary discoveries in physics over the last century. I even met one guy who was studying how to run nuclear reactors who refused to believe Galileo's four hundred year old Weak Equivalency Principle that the weight of an object does not change how fast it falls. Usually my experience with such people is that they do not want to hear what you have to say, if something violates their ideas of common sense, they reject it out of hand.

mattmark
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Posted 11/03/09 - 06:06 AM:	#8
...if something violates their ideas of common sense, they reject it out of hand. This isn't too amazing. In fact, it's a survival trait whose utility is confirmed by millions of years of evolution. The problem is that this same evolutionary path has equipped us with brains adapted to local conditions that aren't reliable guides to how the universe as a whole works (who knew?), so that everything about the latter seems counter-intuitive to us. It's only the math--confirmed by experimental result--that has succeeded in persuading some very nimble thinkers that 'common sense' has its limits. Hats off to them for getting the news through to at least a few of the rest of us!

FloydMcHenry
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Posted 11/03/09 - 11:28 AM:	#9
If space and time are not "constant" they are still wholly relative, meaning, we as rational beings could quantify them across the whole of the universe. They are also ever present confines to reality. The question had to do with whether there were any other ever present "borders" on the definition of reality.
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exel+two
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Posted 11/03/09 - 01:31 PM:	#10
I would say that the only "constant" of reality is belief. What "exists" is only what we are convinced exists. Space-time is an idea, therefore it exists. But as long as some people are convinced that it doesn't "exist", it is not a constant because it does not exist to them. But if you wanted to you could simply argue that things (including people) only exist in your mind. Reality is a very personal experience. Humans exist as individuals and as such, if you are convinced that space and time are the only constants of reality, they are.

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