In this blog post, we explore the nature of time through Augustine’s theory of time. He viewed time as a phenomenon experienced within the mind, and we will examine its meaning together.
What is time?
This question is one of the oldest since humanity began to think. Because time is an indispensable concept in human existence. Time is intimately connected to our lives. In daily life, we constantly say we don’t have enough time or that time passes too quickly. Yet, when watching a boring movie, we complain that time drags and calculate how much time remains. These experiences with time clearly show how we understand the concept of time. But what exactly is time? Is it merely a subjective concept that changes according to our senses and experiences, or is it an entity existing as the fundamental order of the universe?
Does time pass both quickly and slowly, and can it be quantified and measured numerically? In this blog post, we will examine Augustine’s views on time and then explore the limitations of his theory of time. Time is a highly comprehensive term used differently across various fields like physics, philosophy, and science. In physics, time is associated with motion. Knowing that motion exists is what constitutes time. Seeing the second hand of a clock move and perceiving that time has passed is a prime example of this physical concept of time. Conversely, in philosophy, time is often considered metaphysically in relation to space and also signifies change. This philosophical concept of time demands deep contemplation on its essence, exploring the nature and meaning of time itself.
Time often comes with the predicate ‘flows’. The fact that time flows implies its existence. So, is time real, and can we perceive it? Augustine’s philosophical discussions on time mostly begin with this very question.
“What is time? If no one asks me, I know what time is. But if I try to explain it to someone who asks, I honestly don’t know what time is.” Thus, when we think about time alone, it seems to exist, but we struggle to explain it to others because time differs in these two situations. The time in the first situation is subjective time—the time I perceive. The attempt to explain time in the second situation stems from trying to understand and describe time as quantitative and objective. But does time truly exist?
“If nothing had passed, there would be no past; if nothing were coming, there would be no future; if nothing existed, there would be no present time.” Augustine firmly asserts that time “exists.” For if nothing that exists has already passed or is yet to come, then past and future would not exist; and if time itself did not exist, then neither would the present. Yet we know that time has already flowed, that time will come, and that we live within the present moment. Therefore, time must exist.
If we think time exists, we must now examine what time is. We must consider whether time is a single continuous existence, whether it signifies each moment, or whether it exists divided into three parts: ‘past, present, and future’. On this, Augustine says the following.
“It is also not quite right to say that there are three times: past, present, and future. It would be more correct to say there are three present times: the present of things past, the present of things present, and the present of things future.” (St. Augustine’s Confessions, Book 11, Chapter 20, Paragraph 26) This means that, unlike our common perception of time divided into past, present, and future, he sees three aspects of the ‘present’ existing within time. At first glance, his reasoning seems correct. Time flows, and since we cannot know the past that has passed or the future that has not yet come, the only thing we can truly perceive is the present. But if the past, present, and future are indistinguishable parts of the present, how can we know the present? And can we simply say we cannot know the past and future because they have passed or have not yet come?
As we saw earlier, Augustine acknowledges the existence of time. Yet time vanishes into the past, passing through the present—a fleeting moment—from the future that has not yet arrived. This raises the question: Can time truly be said to ‘exist,’ as Augustine claimed, when it is actually heading towards ‘non-existence’? Furthermore, he states that time is not three distinct entities—past, present, and future—but rather three parts of the present. But does the ‘present’ truly have substance? If the present continues indefinitely, it ceases to be present and becomes eternal. Therefore, past and future cannot be considered parts of the present. Unless past and future are distinguished, the present as something enduring cannot exist; only eternity would remain. We commonly think of the present as merely a single point in time. The very moment I am writing this will become the past one second later. I believe our perception of the present is only possible because past and future exist. If, as Augustine said, only an eternal present continues, I could not call that the present.
Conversely, is the present merely a succession of moments? Similar to Kant’s criticism of Hume’s epistemology (the bundle of perceptions) as a ‘spectacle of perceptions,’ even if moments repeat, they remain merely ‘moments.’ Moments are not continuous; they are merely fragments of time. Therefore, even if combined, they cannot form the ‘present’. That is, even if we say, as Augustine did, that only the ‘present’ exists, the time that actually exists right now is a day, an hour, a minute, a second. Yet we cannot call those the present. The moment we strive to define the present second, that second itself can be infinitely subdivided into units far shorter than itself. Therefore, all attempts to measure time in quantifiable units are doomed to fail. Augustine seems to have considered this as well. Thus, to resolve the problem of measuring time, he answers that time exists only in the mind, calling it the extension or expansion of the mind. Here, extension signifies the temporal expansion of consciousness.
“These three times exist in some way within our minds. If not, I cannot know them anywhere else.” He perceives time subjectively, viewing the problem of time as an internal activity of consciousness. However, this extension of the mind does not signify the origin of time or time itself. The measurement of time now also occurs internally. The previously enigmatic “present of past events, present of present events, present of future events” now becomes somewhat explainable. The past literally means ‘moments that have passed.’ Humans, always standing only in the present moment, recall those departed times within the recognition of the present moment—within the mind. Therefore, the past is ‘memory or the act of remembering.’ Conversely, the present signifies the time currently being perceived, the moment captured by present consciousness. Thus, the present is “the act of looking now or being conscious now.” The future is time that has not yet arrived but will soon come. That is, it is what humans, standing at the point called the present, anticipate about the time yet to come. Therefore, the future is “anticipation or the act of anticipating.”
To summarize, for Augustine, measuring time means perceiving the forms of time through expansion within the mind’s temporal realm of remembering, intuiting, and anticipating. That is, past events have already passed and no longer exist, yet we see memories of the past in this present moment. However, one error in the measurement of time arises here. My memory (of past events in the present) does not exist solely as a single moment in the past. My memory does not persist temporally and cannot be measured. Horrific memories, like trauma, do not exist only in the past; they also influence my actions in the present and future. In this case, my memory must be seen as persisting temporally and is unmeasurable. Regarding this, he states that memory and prediction are merely signs that reveal past and future time, and thus do not exist in the present. This raises the question: how can things from the non-existent past and future be considered part of the present, and how can they be distinguished from the present through measurement? The attempt to measure time clearly occurs in the present. The question remains: how can one measure a future that has not yet arrived in the eternal present, or a past that has already passed?
Augustine finds the answer in God. Problems like the measurement of time discussed earlier are all aporias arising because time has no substance. Augustine says time exists within the mind, but in truth, the mind itself has no substance. Therefore, the past, present, and future, which are merely extensions of the mind, also have no substance. He answers the question of time’s existence by saying it is merely an ideal phenomenon created by the present human consciousness. That is, it is merely a phenomenon of consciousness occurring within the consciousness of time. However, this aporia arises because humans are finite. In contrast, God has no time or space. God sees the eternally unchanging present moment. Whether He observes any point in the past, present, or future, there is no difference there. Thus, Augustine transcends this aporia by relying on God. When analyzing the essence of time, he endeavored to define time not by everyday concepts, but in relation to eternity and in relation to God. Time only has meaning in relation to eternity. Here, eternity is not time itself. Eternity is the attribute of the immortal God. In contrast, time here refers to human temporality, which inherently contains the uncertainty of existence. Therefore, by believing in God, humans overcome the extension and dispersion of the human mind, which is divided into past, future, and present, through the mind’s orientation toward eternity. This overcomes the existential limitations of humanity, such as the fear of death, transcends the bounds of temporality, and liberates us from temporal concerns. This signifies salvation. That is, despite the aporia of our cognition, by participating in God’s eternity, our souls are resurrected and find rest within God’s eternal being. This is what Augustine ultimately sought to convey through his discussion of time.
Limitations of Augustine’s Discussion of Time
Beyond the aporia concerning the conceptual perception of time discussed earlier, Augustine’s theory of time has several limitations. First is the problem of measuring time. As discussed previously, Augustine grappled with how to measure time for the past that has already passed, the future that has not yet arrived, and the eternal present that does not expand. Therefore, he argued that time is merely an ‘extension existing only in the mind,’ asserting that it can only be measured through subjective temporal consciousness within the mind. However, quantification and measurement belong to the realm of natural science. The subjective time he speaks of appears to disregard natural time, or objective time. Can subjective time and objective time coexist simultaneously?
Furthermore, his discussion of the directionality of time has limitations. He states that time flows from the future through the present to the past. “What else could it be but coming from the future, passing through the present, and going to the past? Therefore, time flows from what is not yet, through what has no extension, to what is no longer.” However, Moltmann points out the following regarding Augustine’s flow of time:
“If all future flows through the present into the past, does not ‘past’ possess ontological primacy over all times? The irreversible nature of time’s flow from future to past effectively renders everything past. Thus, there exists only ‘past past,’ ‘present past,‘ and ‘future past.’ If any time among times is closest to eternity, from this perspective it is not the present but the past. The past is the end of all things.” Considering his words, Augustine, who called time an eternal present, seems not to have considered this aspect. Unlike his theory of time, which sought to overcome the limits of existence and attain eternal life through union with the immortal God, there remains room to interpret our time as identical to the past and as a life awaiting death. Furthermore, while he described the future as an aspect of the present—as expectation—his explanation seems to eliminate the future. In the Confessions, he speaks of the future as expectation through prediction, but in reality, within the expansion of the mind, the future does not appear to play a significant role unlike the memory of the past.
We have examined Augustine’s theory of time thus far. He grasped time within our minds to construct a subjective sense of time, spiritually understood the existence of time in relation to God’s creation of the world, and spoke of salvation using God’s eternal time. God saved humanity, freeing them from the bonds of time. His discussion of time originated from religious concerns. To find spiritual faith and meaning, he explained the relationship between humanity and God, and between time and eternity, through his discussion of time. Through this, he sought to convey that humans, who live perpetually burdened by anxiety about the transience of existence, must rely on the eternal God. Therefore, even if his discussion of time has limitations and falls into aporia, it still holds philosophical significance. Since Plato, it attempted to grasp the essence of time—an attribute of eternity, previously known only conceptually—and divided it into subjective and objective time.
