Time Is Life

2 Pages 522 Words

1."Time is life and life is time." Discuss the meaning of this statement.


The word time can be used in at least three different ways. The one most referred to is clock time or chronological time. We organize our day around the geometry of clocks, which are synchronized to movements of the Sun. Another kind of time is real time. That is "matter- in- motion" or the sequence of events occurring in the real world. We use this type of time to answer questions such as "how long does it take...?".

Subjective time is the only kind of time that we have a clear understanding of. Christian states that subjective time is "...our individual experience of the continuum of our consciousness". Meaning that time exists in our consciousness. In our consciousness, time is variable. Depending on certain physiological phenomena, our perception of time can "slow down" or "speed up" in relation to chronological time. When you are bored time seems to pass very slowly, but when you are active or enjoying yourself time flys by. But in actuality the same amount of clock time passes regardless of your perception of it.

In the Western world we tend to objectify time and think of it as a medium in which objects/ events occur. We find it difficult to think of time apart from real world objects and events. Time and content are not the same. Time is the continuum of consciousness, without content. This implies that if there were no experiencers or conscious minds, there could be no time. This also implies that before life on earth existed there was no time, and, if life on earth were to cease to exist there would be no more time.

One way that we tend to think of time is in the context of past, present, and future. The past only exists as it is re-created in our consciousness. Influences from the past can still exist in the present. The future is defined as the expectation that we will continue to experience "presents" and is the e...