Is Time Real?
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Is time real? Will I still be living my life even without the concept of time? How come I sometimes say, “I have no time.”? Do we really run out of time? Have I spent my time here on earth wisely?When we speak of time, the immediate concept that comes to our mind is a clock, watch or a calendar. One of the definitions of Time states that it is duration, considered independently of any system of measurement or any employment of terms which designate limited portions thereof. It is also defined as a particular period or part of duration, whether past, present, or future; a point or portion of duration; as, the time was, or has been; the time is, or will be. Aristotle claimed that "time is the measure of change" but he emphasized "that time is not change [itself]" because a change "may be faster or slower, but not time..."
I personally think that time is not real. Time is just perceived and it is all relative to the individual. Time varies from place to place and from person to person. I, myself, experience these variations in the concept of time. There are instances when I feel time is running fast. These are the times when I needed to beat a deadline. On the other hand, whenever I am waiting for someone to come, I feel like it is the longest hour of my life. But in reality, nothing changed, it was just my perception of time that changed. We sometimes say we have no time. But don’t we really have time? Of course not, we say it because we would rather spend that moment in doing other things or being with someone else, thus, we really have no time.
Time is made by man for his convenience and since it is man-made, anyone can create and destroy Time at will. If all the devices that were made to keep track of time were destroyed, I believe we would still be living our lives the way it should be. For a moment, we may go through confusion and chaos but after that, we would eventually find ourselves doing what we ought to do for that particular moment.
The concept of time is a useful one because it offers consistency, predictability, and measurability to these changes. But whether it's a real thing or just a useful definition can never really be known. I think, what is important is to make the most out of our existence. Let us make our lives as meaningful as possible in each passing moment that we exist.