Does time pass without the advancement of culture?

This is something I was thinking about today, while listening to Linkin Park's "Crawling" remixed with sound-clips from the September 11th attacks. Since both are from the same time period, I felt like I was there while listening.

That's not really my point, though. And this isn't really something to take seriously, just to think about. The advancement of culture means the collective mind involved moves on and changes over time. We often feel disconnected from older time periods because the culture was so different then. However, if the culture suddenly resurfaced, we might feel a connection or at least a resonance of that time period.

Have the last ten years been a long time? Yes, because so many events have taken place, and the culture has advanced (although personally I think it is decaying to the point of near-death and then resurrection, that isn't what I mean by "advancing"). But if Earth had been sitting here without any life, it would have been no time at all.

Also, I would like to make the point that if the culture didn't advance, it would seem like a lot less time had passed even if there were people present. Well, maybe not, because where there are people there is advancement of culture.

But let's think of a room boarded up for 100 years then opened. Has time passed?

reply to post by darkbake


If there were no people time would not appear to exist. In fact time is a human concept, it only appears in the mental realm.
There is only ever 'this' and 'this' always looks different.

reply to post by Itisnowagain


Thanks, that's pretty much what I'm talking about.

The rate of cultural change varies over time. There are certain exceptional periods like the High Renaissance or the Enlightenment where cultural change (sometimes in different fields) happened rapidly. Then there were ages in which relatively little happened, before and after these bursts. Even in such periods lurk outstanding geniuses like Rembrandt, for example. Or Cervantes.

reply to post by silent thunder


Yeah, that's true. I was just thinking that. Let's take our current culture, for example, which is moving at a very high velocity in comparison to the average. It makes watching clips from the 90's look pretty dated... when once upon a time like in the beginning of the current age (0 AD or so) that would have been nothing. I'm guessing.

reply to post by darkbake


Change occurs quicker. Have you heard of timewave zero? And the mayan calander?

youtu.be...

Originally posted by Itisnowagain
reply to post by darkbake

 

If there were no people time would not appear to exist. In fact time is a human concept, it only appears in the mental realm.
There is only ever 'this' and 'this' always looks different.

Time is not a human concept. The measurement of time is a human concept. If something changes form, if something moves, if someone thinks a thought then time has passed. For without time it could not be so.

If we all suddenly died would the forests cease to grow? Would the then Earth cease to turn or would the stars cease to shine?

Imagine if time itself suddenly paused right now for a million years.............and then started again. We would never even know...

(and yes I do realise that a million years could also not pass without time as well but hopefully you get my drift).

Originally posted by darkbake

But let's think of a room boarded up for 100 years then opened. Has time passed?

Has anything changed in the room, has dust settled, have mice made a little nest in the corner, has the materials which make up the room decayed slightly or changed chemically, has the air grown stale?

Time has passed for time is an omnipotent force throughout the universe and cannot be held back by simply boarding up a room.

But do you know what time it is.....?

The time is now.

reply to post by 1littlewolf


"Imagine if time itself suddenly paused right now for a million years.............and then started again. We would never even know..."

And that is because time is only percieved by a knowing presence. Without a knowing presence (which is always present - now) time cannot be imagined.

reply to post by Itisnowagain


Right on my friend.

But without a knowing presence there can be no imagination anyway.....

reply to post by 1littlewolf


There is nothing but knowing presence.

Gnosis is the act of knowing. Without the knowing of the images (and imaginings) that appear in presence as presence what would there be?

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