who invented the concept of linear time

The concept of linear time first appeared in the writings of the
Hebrews and the Zoroastrian Iranians. The Roman writer Seneca
advocated linear time, but most of the ancient Greeks and Romans
believed time to be ultimately cyclic. Aristotle gave psychological
reasons for why the circle is an appropriate model. His point was that
we cannot conceive of a first time; for any first time we could
conceive of a time before that. Neither Aristotle nor Plato envisioned
their cosmic cyclicity as requiring any detailed endless repetition
such as the multiple births of Socrates, though some Stoic
philosophers did adopt this drastic position. Rejecting circularity,
Islamic and Christian theologians adopted the Jewish notion that time
is linear with the universe being created at a definite moment in the
past. Augustine explicitly objected to Aristotle's belief that time is
circular, insisting that human experience is a one-way journey from
Genesis to Judgment, regardless of any recurring patterns or cycles in
nature. In the Medieval period, Thomas Aquinas agreed. It was not
until 1602 that the concept of linear time was clearly and explicitly
formulated--by the English philosopher Francis Bacon. In 1687, Newton
captured some of this viewpoint when he represented time
mathematically by using a line rather than a circle. The concept of
linear time was promoted by Barrow, Leibniz, Locke and Kant. In 19th
century Europe, the idea of linear time became dominant in both
science and philosophy, and it remains so today.

that is a great comment and pretty much answers what i was looking for
there, a brief history and who the people involved were. It's funny
that ancient wisdom is more likely to be closer to how it really is
than the accepted viewpoint today...!

hi there,

this is very much not an answer but more an insight into the nature of 'time'.

I would strongly urge anybody who is interested in time to visit :
http://www.peterlynds.net.nz

Peter Lynds has some fanscinating and in my opinion, correct theories about 'time'.


To cut a long story short : There is no time.  because if there were
quantifiable moments in time then we would be frozen statically within
these moments.

Just because we have successfully managed to ,say; work out how long
it takes us to revolve around the sun within 365 days then divide that
into months, then break it into smaller and ever smaller 'quanta' of
time, does not mean that there is a time.

anyway, I have but touched on Mr. Lynds great insight's.  His website
is very interesting.


Sorry to bother you with a not-so-precise answer.

cheers,

oh i wholeheartedly agree that there is 'no time'. This question was a
more basic one just wanting to know who 'came up with' the whole
illusion of linear time. that's all :)

i will check that website out, it looks awesome. love to know more. my
knowledge is based on what is in the books 'conversations with god'
anyway...

thanks!