Metaphysics Vs. Time: My Reflection

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy responsible for the study of existence. It is the foundation of a worldview. It answers the question "What is?" and in this case, “What is time?” It encompasses everything that exists, as well as the nature of existence itself. It says whether the world is real or merely an illusion. It is a fundamental view of the world around us. Metaphysics is the foundation of philosophy. Without an explanation or an interpretation of the world around us, we would be helpless to deal with reality. We could not feed ourselves or act to preserve our lives. The degree to which our metaphysical worldview is correct is the degree to which we are able to comprehend the world and act accordingly.

Metaphysics and Time: My Thoughts

Often in life, people think of time as a singular concept. People often believe that time is just the time we tell each day. However, no one ever really asks themselves what time truly is. Time is said to be eternal. It is said that it has neither a beginning nor an end. Yet, humans are able to measure it as years, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds. They have also given meanings to the words – past, present, and future. True, time has a meaning. It moves. What was yesterday is not today. What is today will not be tomorrow. Yesterday is gone. Today is, and tomorrow is yet to come. Time always exists.

Every movement of creation is linked with time. One cannot grow paddy in a month, nor can a child become an adult in a year. Everything is fixed to a timeframe. Time is a free force. It does not wait for anyone. It is commonly said that time and tide wait for no man. Time is money. A minute not “usefully spent is an eternal loss” (Stanford University, n.d.). You can never get back the lost minute. One has to strike the iron when it is hot. Time flies and never returns. If you waste time, it wastes you. ‘Time is the best medicine,’ says Ovid. It is said that time heals all wounds, and it even heals what reason cannot. All human beings are emotional. When negative emotions like fear, anger, envy, and jealousy overtake them, they lose reason and act in haste, leading to serious consequences. “They may repent later, as emotions cool down. But the damage done is done and remains forever” (Time, metaphysics of, n.d.). Even that damage can heal with the passage of time. People involved may forget and forgive. That is the importance of time and its healing touch because time is everything.

The Wisdom of Time

Time is said to be a wise counselor. The passage of time allows an individual to grow. This growth gives experience. Experience helps decision-making. Time reminds you to act and to act wisely. The wisest make use of time fruitfully. It is said that “the wisest grieve the most at the loss of time. Those who do not know the importance of time, waste it, or rather they spend it doing nothing” (“Time: On the Physics / Metaphysics of Time,” n.d.). There is a proverb which says that killing time is not a murder; it is a suicide. Basically, this means that by wasting time, one is not harming others. On the other hand, one is harming oneself. Ordinary people merely go on thinking about how to spend their time. The wise and talented make use of time fruitfully and absorb every moment of it.

Some people always complain that there is no time for them to do anything. That is not correct. If one wisely plans their activities, there will be time for everything happening according to time. Bede Rundle said, “A man who is a part of nature cannot complain against time. Time is powerful” (Rundle, 2004, p. 45). It conquers all. People are only to obey it, obey the time that is given to them. A person cannot say that they have nothing of their own because time is what you make it. All philosophers agree that we would be missing some important information if we did not know what the present time is, that is, what time it is now, but these philosophers disagree over just what sort of information this is. “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, 1915, p. 212).

Understanding Time's Nature

All humans know what time is, but everyone finds it hard to describe it without actually saying the word 'time'. Although time may be difficult to explain, so is a color difficult to describe; however, its effects can be measured, and its components can be discovered. “Physics, in fact, has made great steps in explaining time by using these two. When we talk about time, we talk either about conventional time or the psychological time” (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, n.d.). The conventional time is measured by physical clocks. When we ask someone for the time, it is this physical time which we refer to. However, there is also a more psychological kind of time, as when we refer to phrases such as "time flew by" or "that seemed like forever". These expressions make us realize that sometimes the subjective passage of time is faster or slower than the objective passage of time that clocks measure. These two types of time may seem distinct as far as the rate of passage of time is concerned.

The Preciousness of Time

There is a saying, “Time and tide wait for none.” The saying is indeed true. Time waits for none. It comes and goes. Time is absolutely unbounded. Neither money nor position can buy it. Nothing on earth can subdue or conquer it. The most remarkable feature of time is its preciousness. Its value is unfathomable, and its power is inestimable. Its potential is something which we cannot calculate. A minute is enough to win a victory. A second is enough to make you the richest person in the world. A fraction of a second can make a difference between life and death. Every moment brings with it thousands of golden opportunities. Every minute is a storehouse of ‘chances’. Therefore, we must not allow such precious time to slip away. If we do so, we allow those golden opportunities and chances to slip away too. As we go through life, we realize for ourselves that if there is anything in the world which will never come back, it is time. Once time crosses into the threshold of the past, it never again returns to the ‘present’. Those who have realized this basic truth of life never allow time to pass away unused. To utilize time fruitfully, we must take concrete steps as to how we are going to use it and what we are going to do with it. Time is everything, regardless of whether you are thinking about it in regards to the past, present, or future.

References

• Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://iep.utm.edu/time/
• Rundle, B. (2004). Time, Order, and Direction. Oxford University Press.
• Russell, B. (1915). Our Knowledge of the External World. Open Court Publishing Company.
• Stanford University. (n.d.). Time management. Retrieved from https://www.stanford.edu/time-management/
• “Time: On the Physics / Metaphysics of Time.” (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.physics-metaphysics-time.com/
• Time, metaphysics of. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.metaphysics-of-time.com/