The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-11
The Nature Of Time.

To n EDITOR or THE SrN-Str. Sew
cral SrN spots have of late been befoc-
ging fundamental philosophical terms
like time and Immortality. yet such sub
jects are plain enough even to the semi
professional philosopher unless he has
been educated at a university where
rolling the wells OF truth is called origi-
nal research. To prove the Immortality
Of the soul requires much space, the
setting of a line Of foundation stones,
but the notion Of time can be explained
in a little room,
Time supposes succession. II may be
the comprehension of SUGGESTIONS, as
when we say We have time To perform
an act secondly, the multitude Of sue
cessions, az when We think of time
past thirdly. the duration of the mo-
ton of "A given prime mover, as the sun,
which divides time into days, weeks,
seasons fourthly, II IL the duration OF
any motion which Is in itself success
siye. Time Is not duration, nor is it
. motion itself. but it j. essentially con-
ntctcd with mot ,ou. II has "A peculiar
mode of existence. = proper essence,
inasmuCh as 1t H. never permanent. hut
always in lux. The parts of time have
also proper modes. the past goes. the
future comes, the present flows,
Time WAS defined perfectly by .Aris-
,otle ,"Thy sizes" Book w. chapter ID
as The enumeration and measure OF
motion from before and after Real
time. or concrete time, Is the multitude
I itself Of Suggestions which TX uniformly
flowing. Time T. not tho measure OF
! motion as regards parts OF a local eN-
| tension. parts simultaneously existing,
! but AS regards successive parts, parts
i'm hux. Motion here IL Il progress from
term 10 term the permanence requisit.
to make this progress Is time ana the
parts of the motion are real and nu-
| mcrablo. Whcucycr we advert to time
AS such We meet the notion of actual
| or possible suvCt ssivc motion before and
after. IL We do not notice that numer-
able succession we are not conscious of
time, for example. when we are deeply
preoccupied or when We are asleep, VI
course time exists whether We notice Il
| or not, but We cannot advert To II with
out a perception of Vulnerable success
| sion. We think OF time as past, pres
ent, future, and that i motion after end
| before and we cannot determine time
except as "A series of SUGGESTIONS. We
measure time by lis " motion, and
every motion by its W internal time,
or the proper internal duration of thai
motion. "If the orbs of HEAVIER ceased
their motion, but a potter's wheel still
whirled, time would yet exist
Time is a measure OF rest also, as
opposed to motion but po'cntially mo
bile time Is not applied to rst in it
essence as rest, hut to rest as In potency
to motion. Space Is material OF geome
try, time of arithmetic: all repeated
enumeration is perfected 10y the posting
Of units, and such posting Is a motion
la which every notion OF time is found
Descartes and Spino2a said time Is
not an affection Of objects, but a
purely subjective mode OF thought
| Kant also made 1t a subjective form OF
| intuition in the internal sense: "iiaum
kt die Form der aussern, Zeit die Form
der innern Anschauung," The success
sion Of time IL really in the object out
side the Observer, but formally II Is
completed by the observation Of the
mind. Time has a foundation in mo-
ton before and after, but the enumera'
ton which completes the form OF time
is an operation Of the intellect which ia
conscious of that enumeration The
matter of time is the motion before an
after its form Is the mental act of thu
enumerat!ng observer, 1t is not Al
actual being outside all mind, but a po'
tential concept In the mode Of actua
being, The world was created in time
not In eternity, which is changeless
The instant Of creation was a moment
insa series Of indefinite SUGGESTIONS be
fore which innumcrable other contin'
gent beings were possible. lnstants are
units in time, moments are units in mo
ton. If, however. We make all time
real, time began when the world wa.
created.
The most difficult phase OF this sub
ject to explain Is tho strict meaning Of
| the term present time. In time, AS il