philosophy / time.mdon commit [spec] add notes for rest of chapter 9 (9db9641)
   1# Time
   2
   3## Presentism
   4
   5- The present time exists exclusively with its objects
   6- There are no non-present objects
   7- Past & future are human constructs
   8- Memories etc are representations of the past in the present
   9
  10
  11<pre>past  present future
  12---------|----------
  13-->-->-->-->-->-->-></pre>
  14
  15## Eternalism
  16
  17- Fourth dimension
  18- Distant times in past and future exist, like distant places
  19- Past, present and future are equally real
  20
  21## Philosophers' Perspectives
  22
  23### Aristotle
  24- we measure time as the "interval between two nows"
  25- time $\propto$ change
  26- subjective
  27
  28### Nietzsche
  29- Time repeats infinitely in the exact same sequence
  30- "Love your fate"
  31
  32### Augustine
  33- Linking Aristotelian philosophy (infinitesimal yet eternal present) to God (always present)
  34- Anything that lasts for a finite time comes from God, yet God is an eternal now
  35- Also considered afterlife / multiple phases of time
  36- Time tends towards non-existence, because the past and future are the only times that can really exist, and the present is infinitesimal (the only definite time).
  37- Yet, time could not exist in infinitesimally small pieces, which go out of existence instantaneously.
  38- Hence, time is a function of human perception and memory.
  39
  40#### Response
  41Each premise of the argument seems to appear reasonable, but it is merely meta-analysis - building upon the Aristotelian idea that the present is infinitesimal. Also, there is no proof that time could not exist in infinitesimally small pieces - persistent memory does not disprove this. Events could span multiple "slices" of time. The conclusion that time is an exclusively human construct does not follow from the premise that the present could not exist infinitesimally.
  42
  43### Borges
  44- We think time is a sequence of unique moments, but they can be repeatedf
  45- Time = sensations e.g. reading Shakespeare makes you Shakespeare
  46- Finite number of variables, therefore time can repeat itself
  47
  48### Einstein
  49- We cannot measure time without being external to it
  50- 1 s / s