ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE EXISTENCE OF TIME

                                                                   TIME

                            ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE EXISTENCE OF TIME

1.Time indicates the past,present and future. But the past and the future do not exist. Therefore time does not exist.

2.Even present time does not exist because time is divisible, whereas the ‘now’ which exists being indivisible, is not a part of time.

Aristotle attempted to provide answers to the objections raised against the existence of time. This he did by critically analyzing the concept of tjme nd motion.

Time is one of the extrinsic principles of motion.Time can be conceptualised in the following ways: Time

         is in the numbering of motion according to before and after i.e. as it crosses different points of place.

         is a measure of motion, basically, local motion in its duration essentially (hours, days) and also in its being (continuous and numerable).

         is also a measure of rest for those things that are not moving but have motion at a point. Therefore, time is everywhere both in things in motion and those at rest.

         is composed of some parts which have been (past), others which have to be (future) and  the no part which is (now). Therefore, past and future do not exist.

         Is applied in terms of ‘now’ in so far as it is not always the same but in as much as it is the conception of ‘before’ and ‘after’ (i.e. events succeeding one another from the past, through the present to future). The ‘now’ is a point in time, an instant, a moment. Time is known through the now. Now is the various points in the difference between the before and the after. The culmination of those instances makes up the time. That is why now seems to be continuous and a boundary of time. E.g. she has now come, she came at 4:00am,etc it happened then. In its strict sense, now is the end of the past and a beginning of the future making it continuous. In fact, it measures time and if there is no time, there is no now and vice versa. Now is our most immediate experience of time and once experienced, ceases to be but becomes past. Now distinguishes the past from the present. It points to a moment, an instant.

         is divisible.

         talks about how short or long an event lasts when it occurs in so far as it is a continuum and much or little in so far as it is a number.

         As a number (much or little), the minimum is one e.g. a year, day or second. But as a continuum (long or short), it can be divided into smaller parts just like magnitude.

         is linked with movement  that is something in motion and change

         is that by which movement can be numerically estimated. Movement is measured by the time and time is measured by the movement, they define each other.

         enables things to change; therefore, there is change because there is time.

         cannot be pointed as an actual thing, are not extended in space, not sensible objects and has no location.

         deals with events. Without events, there is no time because in talking about time, we talk about temporal sequence of events within space. It is the duration of events.

         is related to event in that events make time but there is no event outside now which is always in the past. The future is not an actuality.

         Is the same everywhere but different due to the event by reason of before and after

         Can be repeated (duplicated) because of the specific repetition (rainy season) of the motion (event).

         It is infinite in potency but finite in being. It is a continuum but discrete in relation to motion and events.

In conclusion, Time is not identical to motion but linked with it. It is not motion (because motion exists in particular things that are in motion but time is everywhere). Time does not exist without motion. It is connected with motion. Time is in the numbering of motion according to before and after. Time cannot be applied unless there is succession of events, which is the beginning of the event to the end of it. It is the number and measure of motion. Because there is a priority and posterity of motion, there is a priority and posterity of time. It is not a motion of the mind. Whatever is contained in time is subject to decay and corruption, but whatever is outside time exists forever.

                                              THE CONCEPT OF ETERNITY

Eternity has to do with endless life. There is no event in it either before or after and it does not begin or end. Only God is eternal. Time is not eternal but eternity is the cause of time and is therefore not in time. Whatever is in the visible world must have a beginning which is the beginning of motion and time. Time began when nature came to be i.e. creation. Creation was the beginning of time. Therefore, motion and time came into being when nature began and are not eternal and whatever is subject in time is subject to decay and corruption but that outside time exists forever and is no longer in nature. But evolution is in time, it is a change of form.