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Metaphysics & Psychology

Does time actually exist or is it merely a product of the human mind?

By T.K. Randall
January 31, 2025 · Comment icon 17 comments

What exactly is time ? Image Credit: Pixabay / anncapictures
Scientists and philosophers have long struggled to understand the nature of time and whether or not it even exists at all.
A second or a minute are fixed periods of time, yet we rarely seem to perceive time as passing at a consistent rate - it can speed up or slow down depending on what we are doing or how we are feeling.

For example, if you are absorbed in an enjoyable task or watching your favorite TV show, time will seem to move quickly, whereas time can seem to drag if we are bored or doing something we don't like.

Such experiences don't only apply to short activities, either - weeks can seem to fly by when you are on holiday but can seem to stretch on forever when you are working.

Time can also seem to move differently depending on your age - young children often feel that one year can seem like an age, while the older you get the quicker a year seems to pass.
In certain situations, such as when a person is in imminent danger, time can also seem to slow down to such an extent that it is possible to think things through in a way that would normally be impossible.

This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as "time expansion".

The 18th-Century German philosopher Immanuel Kant believed that all this happens because time is not a fundamental element of the world but a product of the human mind - something that exists only as we perceive it and to help us make sense of the world by establishing an order for our experiences.

So is it really possible that time is merely an illusion - a product of our own conscious minds ?

We may never know for sure.

Source: Psychology Today | Comments (17)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #8 Posted by jmccr8 17 days ago
It is a means of measure and nothing more but is useful as a tool or guide.
Comment icon #9 Posted by flying squid 17 days ago
 
Comment icon #10 Posted by Gumball 17 days ago
Is it not just another wae to quantify something?
Comment icon #11 Posted by openozy 17 days ago
Do you think this could be a defence mechanism to prepare yourself for the impact? Whatever it is it's interesting and I've heard this countless times from accident victims, including the mrs.
Comment icon #12 Posted by Guyver 17 days ago
Yes.  That is very possible.  It could also be that our brains are working so fast at that moment that everything seems slow, but we are speeding up.  I was watching this new documentary series about ufo/uap and there was one case they were reviewing where the uap seemed to make a right turn at high speed and there was some film captured of it. They brought on an astrophysicist or someone to discuss how this could be possible is the time dilation principle that Einstein spoke of.  The faster you travel, the slower time moves.  So, the craft captured on film could be moving at a relative s... [More]
Comment icon #13 Posted by Freez1 17 days ago
Time is not an illusion if you need solid proof look around your home and locate a hammer. Now go outside and put your thumb face down on the concrete and smack it with that hammer. Write down the exact date and time right before you do it. Now tomorrow look at that piece of paper and think real hard about that exact moment and the pain that thumb experienced. And convince your thumb that was an illusion.
Comment icon #14 Posted by Portre 16 days ago
Brian Greene interviews Julian Barbour on the nature of time.  
Comment icon #15 Posted by fred_mc 15 days ago
I never understand discussions about that time might not exist. Everything takes time, a thought takes time for example. Without time, nothing would happen, everything would be static. That is at least how I think but I might be thinking wrong.
Comment icon #16 Posted by Duke Wellington 15 days ago
Its all about when you wonder off in the mind. That`s when all the strange experiences start happening. I think what happens is when something stops consciously registering (like where you are) the weirdness creeps in with it.
Comment icon #17 Posted by sanchez710 15 days ago
The concept of time itself is a construct of humans. We base time on the rotation of the earth around the sun and the moon around the earth to calculate our months and years. We break it down into hours and minutes to measure our daily activities and when to sleep, work etc. Time itself is possibly not linear as some indigenous cultures view existence as a loop and everything is 'now'. No past or future,  only 'now' exists. The present is all there is. That's a cool way to view it!


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