Augustine's Time

Augustine challenged different aspects of the topic of time, in which he struggled with the most crucial question: what is time? Though the concept of time may sound simple in our contemporary world, Augustine had a difficult time grasping this idea, constructing several seemingly contradictory statements. His intention was to generate a connection between the philosophical approach of time and that suggested by sacred scripture as demonstrated in Book XI in his work, Confessions. He applied the belief that when God created the heavens and the earth, He also created time itself. Nobody has attempted to acknowledge time as “changeable” until the works of Augustine, since many of us consider time as advancing. The first thesis of time he …show more content…
He finally came “to the conclusion that time is nothing other than tension: but tension of what, I do not know, and I would be very surprised if it is not tension of consciousness itself”(26,33). After Augustine’s groundbreaking revelation, he believed time may be an extension of the mind itself. From an Augustinian stance, if time is only a function of the mind and soul, and time, in total, comes from the eternal Word, then possibly the entirety of consciousness is plainly a fragment of the notion of time that lies in the mind of God, the all-knowing and all-powerful creator of the universe. There is a sense of tension considered, produced by the perception of time. He brings forth the example of the three functions of the mind: memory, attention, and expectation through language. Augustine states, “But the menstruation of time by these methods yields no result that is absolute, since it may happen that the sound of a shorter line, spoken with a drawl, actually lasts longer than that of a longer one hurried over, The same holds for the whole poem, a foot, and a syllable”(26,33). He analyzes lines of poetry and syllables in words to establishes how humans perceive sound and actions as longer or shorter. He also uses his recollection of reciting a poem to further express the concept of the three functions as he explains the different phases of reciting it and how different segments …show more content…
By figuring out the nature of time itself, he led us toward a direction that we have not arrived at the conclusion to up until now, and the truths to the issues Augustine addressed many centuries back may eventually confirm to unveil the bare essence of reality. He embarked on a journey to find answers to his questions whilst beseeching to God for help eventually refining his ideas down to one accepted theory: time is a tension of the