What is time?: Philosophy Forums

What is time?

knowitall
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Posted 05/18/09 - 07:13 AM:	#541
Quint Essence, the premise that a phenomenon is undefined with respect to something that is purported to be infinite does not always deprive it of universal meaning. For example, the number 1 has no distinct metric meaning in the context of infinity since all finite numbers are metrically equidistant from infinity. But the number 1 is universally meaningful in a finite metric context. Trying to define the meaning of time in the context of your “absolute consciousness” is like trying to define the size of the number 1 with respect to infinity. Yet to those of us with less than “Infinite Consciousness”, time appears to be meaningful and the point of this thread is to try to characterize that meaning.

jorndoe
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Posted 05/18/09 - 03:58 PM:	#542
Thinking Thing (#500) wrote: If an ant circles a leaf with regularity, yes it will serve as a measure of time. The reason we look at moons and suns, or frequencies of atomic oscillators, is that they are periodic to a high degree of accuracy: ant movements are not. So the comparison does not demonstrate that time does not exist. Yeah, I think time quantification becomes (very) useful when everyone can agree on it. And it so happens that we can come up with reasonably accurate clocks (regardless of what anyone may think of "time, the concept"). knowitall (#541) wrote: since all finite numbers are metrically equidistant from infinity Actually, no. But, sorry, that's another debate, and not really relevant to your point (I think). For those that continue to insist on a more metaphysical perspective, as opposed to physics, how about Kant? All experience has content and form. Time and space are forms. Thus, time and space are prerequisites for all experience. And, by the way, may be irreducible.
People are to themselves what they think; people are to others what they do. ∞ ∑ 1/i² = π²/6 i=1

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