20150826 (J)
Journal: August 26, 2015
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Idea of Time                              Science (taxonomy)

Time I have often thought that awareness of “time” is what distinguishes humans from all else. Awareness of time leads to awareness of “future”. This leads through awareness of cause and effect (necessity) eventually to moral systems, to wants and aversions, through classification of possible futures as desirable (morally good) or to be avoided (morally bad).

Of course this leads to laws and other prescriptions on one’s actions, or even thoughts that might lead to the bad, or even thoughts that may not enhance the good. Applied science is almost all there is now to avoid the bad and approach the good. It is a most powerful tool to control the present in furtherance of a desired future.

But enough of this, i.e. time’s effects. My purpose here is second to my first impression about the origin of time in the human mind. Astronomy – Duh! but that came later, much later.

Identity (or the ability to recognize it): What was the ONLY thing to be exactly the same though time. Relative to fixed positions of the stars, motions of sun, moon, and planets were observed. The ability to recognize “identity” and related “similarity” combined with memory led the recognition of cycles. Cycles require time.

Relative similarity is the basis of all science, i.e. all hierarchical classification systems such as Linnaeus and rocks.