1000 words essay discusses the relationship between time and meaning.
Question: Is time the only thing that allows us to apply meaning to our lives? If there is no past, present,
and future would meaning exist? Or is meaning the antecedent to existence, which makes it possible for
us to even have a past, present, and future.
Simply, is there meaning outside of time?
Contention 1: If something has value and it’s only a result of time, then it s just something people
created by identifying seasons. In turn this would answer the second question, observing that past,
present, and future would simply be results of our ingenuity as well. If this is true then life has no
objective meaning. It would be without a standard aim, goal, or intention. We in turn, could call
ourselves “the meaning”, but to what end? What certainty shows the standard for what’s meaningful
and what isn’t? If it’s simply personal opinion it’s only as strong as that person. How is there intrinsic
value to life on this “pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known” as Sagan once said?
Contention 2: However, if I say that meaning is the antecedent to time, I say time only exists because
meaning became important to us. Some steps in our evolution developed the idea that we needed to
pay special attention to certain things within our clans. Whether they be intrinsic or purely moral, both
were necessary for survival.
So if time only exists in order for our brain to process something significant, does this mean that there is
meaning outside of time? Does it suggest that all knowledge or at least intrinsic knowledge is
understood by conscious beings?
Outside Sources:
Ecclesiastes 3.1 from the Old Testament would tell us there is a season for everything,
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2a time to be born, and a time to die;
“a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
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a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.”
This verse identifies meaning in relationships and important periods of a person’s growth, while also
implying our meaning precedes time. ‘For everything’, presents the belief of these things being taken
care of in advance. Or at the very least that they’re made to be applied to the human condition. In effect
it would seem at least from this passage, that God would be the precedent before time, in order for life
to have inherent value.
Joseph Campbell was an American mythologist, writer and lecturer, best known for his work in
comparative mythology and comparative religion. He states, "Life has no meaning. You are the
meaning and you bring it to life."
I agree that we must give life to our meaning by perseverance, but with this mind, who’s to say what
you bring to life isn’t in fact meaningless? You? Other people? Society? The issue with this line of
reasoning is that our ability to learn is based primarily off of our ability to fail. During World War 2, and
entire nation was convinced their meaning was to preserve their race against inferior breeds.
In the 1200-1600’s the Catholic Church believed they were meant to stop a radical sect of Christianity
while also purifying Spain of witches and warlocks. In the 1990’s two kids from Columbine believed
human life had no meaning. It’s a hard argument to make, that homo sapiens can create an objective
meaning for themselves, and much more unlikely for their universe.
This isn’t to say we can’t create a legitimate way to value life, it simply means no one’s purpose is
greater than another by sheer opinion.
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche was a Vajrayana master and head of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.
He said "Do not encumber your mind with useless thoughts. What good does it do to brood on the past
or anticipate the future? Remain in the simplicity of the present moment."
These wise words make a striking parallel to that of Christ in Gospel of Matthew. “Therefore I tell you,
do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink”.
Perhaps these men are correct in a spiritual sense, but in humanities history of behavior, arguments
over meaning are the reason for ideology. So if meaning is the antecedent to time in anyway, we caution
ourselves to approach every practice we encounter as a welcome guest, but wary traveler. This means
ALL things we experience are wisely applied to an objective standard, then explored with caution.
I'm not a biology teacher, but if I understand correctly, our brains had to go through certain adaptations
for specific neural processes. We had to develop the anatomy necessary for reflection, reasoning, and
intuitive capabilities. So if time, is one variable for this process to take place, it's then a device of
measurement for what we value. Therefore, meaning becomes the ‘clock counter’ not out of the result
of time, but for the very purpose of times existence. And since time is our creation, adhering to the rules
of ecological seasons, then it's merely a product of meaning, not a catalyst for it.
Michio Kaku says, “The river of time may fork into rivers, in which case you have a parallel reality and so
then you can become a time traveler and not have to worry about causing a time paradox.”
In the multi-verse, we don’t know how time functions, nor do we have the ability to measure it’s space
time. The physics of another universe could be wildly different than that of our own. Yet, we can
already imply the very meaning of existent to the idea of a multi-verse. We create a significant reality
for something we’ve never seen with what we already think we know. The multi-verse from our current
perspective is timeless, yet has meaning. So what about when we didn’t know anything about time or
meaning? What about when we were simply tree creatures waiting to make this jump in evolution?
Who was the first to determine beauty was inherently valuable, but throwing fecal matter at your
neighbor wasn’t?
To me, meaning is intrinsic and has an objective purpose when the sacred is differentiated from the
secular. Not speaking in religious terms but simple courtesies, behaviors, and gestures that connect
highly conscious beings. Maybe this objective purpose isn’t creating a boundary or limit, but instead
giving a perfect boundary for a life without limits.
Think about it.