We explain what time is, the different meanings it has according to physics and philosophy and what its characteristics are.
What is time?
The term time comes from Latin tempus, and is defined cLike the duration of things that are subject to change. However, its meaning varies according to the discipline that addresses it.
Time in physics
From the Physical time can be defined as the separation of events that are subject to change. It is also understood as a flow of events. In this way the events are organized in sequences, allowing to determine the future, the present and the past. The International System of Units determined the second (S) as the basic unit of time.
In relativistic mechanics, the concept of time becomes more complex when it is defined. This notion arises in opposition to the classical school, where it was understood that time was something absolute, that is to say that it is an exactly equal magnitude for all those who observe it. In relativistic mechanics it is understood that the time values can vary according to the observer, the reference system used and the point where the observer is.
Time in philosophy
From the Philosophy time can also be defined in various ways. This is a concept that has been treated since the ancient Greeks and continues to be so today.
- From an Aristotelian conception this notion is related to the movement, just like in physics. That is why time was defined as that measure of movement in relation to what preceded and what happened.
- Other philosophers like Saint Augustine relate time to the soul. This relationship is due to the fact that the past is something that no longer exists, the future something that will come and the present slips away, becoming a memory, that is, the past.
- From Kantian theory, time is understood as a way of intuiting what happened, a virtue that belongs exclusively to the man. Within this conception, time is not related to movement or to the external to the persons, if not as something internal and personal, that allows you to organize intimate experiences.
- Currently there are various positions in philosophy when defining time, and for this various currents are used, such as the existentialism, historicism, etc. For example, there are philosophers who define time as a conformation of two temporalities, one external and the other internal. Other scholars define time as the human essence.
Finally, we can mention another meaning of time, the one referred to the atmospheric time. In this case, it is defined as an atmospheric state at a certain time and place. In other words, it depends on factors such as the Pressure atmospheric, the temperature, the cloudiness or the absence thereof, the wind and its peculiarities, the humidity, among others, always within a certain space.