65. The Now and Time: Solving the Paradox Through Proportion

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Paradox of the Now #

• The Classical Difficulty: Is the now always the same throughout all time, or is it always different?
  • If the now is always identical, then all events would be simultaneous (no real time exists)
  • If the now is always different, then when does one now cease to be? There is no determinate “next” now
• Aristotle’s Solution: The now is the same as to what it is (ὡς τὸ τί ἐστιν) but always other in position (ὡς τὸ ποῦ ἐστιν or temporal reference)

The Essential Proportion #

• Core Proportion: The now is to time as the thing in motion is to motion
• The thing in motion:
  • Remains the same in essence (what it is)
  • Is always other in position (where it is)
  • By being always other in position, it makes motion continuous
• The now:
  • Remains the same as to what it is (the essence of “now”)
  • Is always other in temporal position (before/after reference)
  • By being always other, it makes time continuous and numbered

Time as Number and the Role of Before and After #

• The now is what makes the before and after in motion able to be numbered
• When we number the before and after in motion, we are numbering nows, not nows themselves as temporal units
• Time depends on a numbering soul because the before and after in motion never exist together simultaneously
• Without the soul to number, time would barely exist

The Now as Limit and Division #

• The now is not a part of time (just as a point is not part of a line)
• The now is a limit of time
• The now is a division of time (dividing past from future)
• Time is continuous because the now is continuous in its flowing (analogous to the line being continuous through the flowing point)

Key Arguments #

The Proportion Argument for Understanding the Now #

1. The thing in motion is other and other as to where it is
2. Because the thing in motion is always in another place, motion exists
3. The now is other and other as to temporal position (before/after)
4. Because the now is always other in temporal position, time exists
5. Therefore: The now makes time just as the thing in motion makes motion

Against Simultaneity and For Real Temporal Distinction #

• If the now were always identical, everything would be simultaneous and there would be no real time
• But real distinction exists between nows in account (ἐν λόγῳ) even though the now itself is incorruptible
• Analogy: I know my brother Marcus as a man, but not as the one knocking at the door—there is real distinction in account even though it is the same man

Why Motion and Magnitude Ground the Before and After in Time #

• The before and after in magnitude (spatial distance) grounds the before and after in motion
• The before and after in motion grounds the before and after in time
• Example: Framingham is before Boston on the road; therefore my motion from Shrewsbury to Framingham is before my motion from Framingham to Boston; therefore the time from Shrewsbury to Framingham is before the time from Framingham to Boston
• This appears to be an extrinsic formal cause: the before and after in magnitude is a model (exemplar) that time imitates

Important Definitions #

The Now (νῦν / nunc) #

• The limit of time and division of time
• Same as to what it is but other in position (or temporal reference)
• Not a part of time but a principle that makes time continuous and numbered
• Proportional to the thing in motion

Time (χρόνος / tempus) #

• The number of motion according to the before and after
• Requires a numbering soul to fully exist
• Continuous quantity (derived from motion) that is also numbered (discrete)

Before and After (πρότερον καὶ ὕστερον / prius et posterius) #

• First found in magnitude (distance)
• Follows in motion (derived from before and after in magnitude)
• Follows in time (derived from before and after in motion)
• The numbering of before and after in motion is time

Examples & Illustrations #

Measuring a Continuous Line #

• When we mark off inches on a line, we are counting parts (inches), not points
• Similarly, when numbering time, we number parts (before and after in motion), not the now itself
• The now corresponds to the points that divide the line

The Shrewsbury-Boston Road Journey #

• Framingham is before Boston on the road
• Therefore, the motion from Shrewsbury to Framingham comes before the motion from Framingham to Boston
• Therefore, the time from Shrewsbury to Framingham (e.g., 9:00-9:30) comes before the time from Framingham to Boston (e.g., 9:30-10:00)
• The before and after in magnitude is a formal cause (exemplar) of the before and after in time

The Man Who Falls Asleep (Rip Van Winkle Problem) #

• When a man falls asleep and awakens, if he takes the now of falling asleep and the now of waking as one now, he is not aware of the passage of time
• Only when he recognizes them as two nows does he realize time has passed
• This shows that time requires numbering the before and after in motion

The Ball in Motion #

• The same ball hit in the infield and caught in the outfield
• It is the same as to what it is (the same ball)
• It is other as to where it is (infield vs. outfield)
• This parallel shows how the now can be both incorruptible and generative of time’s continuity

Notable Quotes #

“Thus in these is something, the now is the same, for the before and after is in motion, but it’s being is other, for the now is in so far as the before and after is able to be numbered.” — Aristotle (cited by Berquist)

“The now that stands still makes eternity; the now that flows makes time.” — Boethius (cited by Berquist as a proportional application)

“So, you have to understand it by proportion, there’s no other way to understand it.” — Duane Berquist

Questions Addressed #

Is the Now Always the Same or Always Different? #

• Solution: Both, understood through proportion. The now is the same as to what it is but always other in temporal position. Just as the thing in motion is the same substance but always in a different place, the now is always the same now but always before or after relative to other nows.

How Does the Now Make Time? #

• By being always other and other in its temporal position (before/after reference), the now makes time continuous and numbered, just as the thing in motion makes motion by being always in another place.

What Kind of Causality Connects Magnitude, Motion, and Time? #

• The before and after in magnitude appears to be an extrinsic formal cause (exemplar/model) of the before and after in motion and time. When we imitate something, that thing is a cause in the sense of being an example, not a mover or maker.

Why Must There Be a Real Distinction Between Nows if Time Is to Exist? #

• If there were no distinction between nows (if the now did not change or vary in its temporal position), then all before and after would be the same, and everything would be simultaneous. The distinction is real in account even though the now itself is incorruptible.

Can We Understand the Incorruptibility of the Now While Acknowledging Time’s Flow? #

• Yes, through the sophistical argument analogy: I know my brother Marcus as a man, but not as the one knocking at the door. Similarly, we can say the now does not cease to be (remains the same in essence) while also being other in account (in its temporal position). The otherness is real without requiring the now itself to be corrupted.