A Series About Time: Reality or an Illusion? Part I: History and Culture
By: Jan Siebenga
Tags: Philosophy, Time, Physics, Culture, History

A History of Time, and Time From a Cultural Perspective.

Time maybe not what you think it is. It is called the fourth dimension, but we cannot move in this dimension as we do in the other three. How we view time seems straightforward, minutes make hours, hours make days, days make weeks, weeks make months, and months make years, and so on. But there is only one direction, from present to future. Philosophers and physicists are trying to solve the riddles about time, and I will share some thoughts about time with you.

A History of Time

Before the Big Bang, there was no space or time. The Big Bang emerged about 13.7 billion years ago. Before the Big Bang, all matter was packed in one tiny dot. This matter became our universe, our sun, the earth, the moon. Interestingly these are also the celestial bodies we started to use to measure time.

Time became evident through motion. The sun and the moon move through our sky, which makes it possible to measure time. Time and motion are closely connected to each other. That time exists as physical propriety did not mean that we humans always had a notion of time. The first evidence that we had an idea of time is from the Paleolithic, about 6000 years ago. And the first calendars to appear were lunar calendars with twelve or thirteen lunar months. The solar calendar was introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC. This Julian calendar set the lengths of the months to their modern values. It has `normal` years of 365 days and `leap` years of 366 days. There is a simple cycle of three normal years, followed by a leap year. Compared to the astronomical solstices and equinoxes, there is an advance of about 11 minutes per year. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar to correct this and reducing the average year from 365.25 days to 365.2425 days. It took centuries to get adopted but is now by far the most commonly used calendar. An interesting exception is the Eastern Orthodox Church, which still uses the Julian calendar.

Probably the first way we started to measure time was through sundials and water clocks. And after we developed the possibility to make glass, hourglasses. Which still are a ubiquitous symbol for the passing of time. Galileo Galilei and Christiaan Huygens invented the pendulum driven clocks, which was a significant advance in accurate time-keeping.

The pinnacle of accurate time-keeping was reached when we started to use atomic clocks. We use the electronic transitions in cesium to get an exact measurement of time. The International System of Measurements defines a second as 9,192,631,770 cycles of the radiation that corresponds with the transition between two electron spin energy levels of a 133Cs atom’s ground state.

We know how to measure time, but knowing how to measure something, doesn´t mean you understand what you are measuring. Measuring time does not give us a fundamental understanding of the nature of time. For that, we need physicists and philosophers. (these two cannot always be strictly divided) But we will start with culture.

Time From a Cultural Perspective

Psychological time is subjective time (phenomenological time or perceived time); it is best understood not as a kind of time but instead as awareness of physical time. Our mental clock measures it. Our psychological time can change its rate (compared to physical time) depending on whether we are bored or intensively involved. There are also cultural differences in how we experience time. It even shows in our language. Using a tensed verb is a grammatical way of locating an event in time. All the world’s cultures have a conception of time, but only half the world’s languages use tenses. English has tenses, but the Chinese, Burmese, and Malay languages do not. The concept of time is also different between cultures. In the Anglo-Saxon world, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia, the future stretches out in front of us. They have a linear vision of time and action. Time is passing, and we waste time if we don´t perform actions or make decisions.

In a world in which there was no experience, there would be no past, present, or future, but there might well be earlier and later Russell

Southern Europeans are multi-active instead of linear-active. The more things they can do at the same time, the happier they feel. Therefore they organize their time (and life) in a completely different way. Multi-active people are not interested in schedules or punctuality. The present reality is more important than appointments; priority is given to the significance of each meeting. Spaniards, Italians, and Arabs will ignore the passing of time if it means that conversations will be left unfinished. Completing a human interaction is the best way they can invest time. Time considerations will usually be subjected to human feelings.

In some Eastern cultures, time is viewed neither as linear nor event–relationship related, but as cyclic. Each day the sun rises and sets, the seasons follow one another, the heavenly bodies revolve around us, people grow old and die, but their children reconstitute the process. Cyclical time is not scarce; there seems always to be an unlimited supply of it. Time is not racing away in a linear future, but coming around again in a circle, where the same opportunities, risks, and dangers will represent themselves when people are so many days, weeks, or months wiser. The Thai attitude toward time is to see time as a pool one could gradually walk around. This metaphor applies to most Asians, who, instead of tackling problems immediately in a sequential fashion, circle around them for a few days or weeks before committing themselves. In Buddhist culture, not only time but also life itself goes around in a circle.

In Madagascar, people experience time in yet another way. Time flows into the back of your head from behind, then becoming the past as it stretches out in front of them. The past is in front of their eyes because it is visible, known, and influential. The Malagasy consider the future unknowable. It is behind their head where they do not have eyes. Their plans for this unknown area will be far from meticulous, for what can they be based on? Buses in Madagascar leave, not according to a predetermined timetable, but when the bus is full. The situation triggers the event. (Lewis, 2014)

The Greek language denotes two distinct principles, Chronos and Kairos. The former refers to numeric or chronological time. Kairos, literally `the right or opportune moment`, relates specifically to metaphysical or Divine time. In theology, Kairos is qualitative, as opposed to quantitative. According to Kabbalists, `time` is a paradox and an illusion. Both the future and the past are recognized to be combined and simultaneously present. Interestingly, these point of view are also found in physics and of course I will discuss that more extensively in the part: Time From a Philosophical Point of View.

But first, in the next story I will discuss time from a physicists point of view.

Reference

Lewis, R. (2014, June 2). How Different Cultures Understand Time. Retrieved from Business Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/how-different-cultures-understand-time-2014-5?r=US&IR=T