Measuring Historical Time - Pod 5.1: The Evolution of Time

Two Forms of Time in Western History

• Cyclical Time:
  • Characterized by recurring events and patterns.
  • Events such as seasons and generations appear and reappear constantly.
  • Example: Biblical time as described in the Old Testament.
• Linear Time:
  • Implies a sense of forward motion.
  • Not necessarily indicative of progress.
  • Also present in Biblical time.
  • Teleological: Time has an end or goal.
    • In the Bible, this end is the Apocalypse or Day of Judgment.

Biblical Time: The Book of Ecclesiastes

• Illustrates cyclical time through recurring natural phenomena:
  • "One generation passes away, and another generation comes; But the earth abides forever."
    • Emphasizes the perpetual nature of the earth compared to transient human generations.
  • "The sun also rises, and the sun goes down …"
    • Highlights the daily cycle of sunrise and sunset.
  • "…The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit."
    • Illustrates the cyclical pattern of the wind's movement.
  • "All the rivers run into the sea … To the place from which the rivers come, There they return again."
    • Depicts the continuous water cycle.
  • "That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun."
    • Reinforces the idea of repetition and lack of novelty in the world.

Time-keeping

• Thirteenth Century:
  • Introduction of the mechanical clock.
  • Led to the division of the day into 24 hours.
• Industrialization:
  • Hastened the divide between old, cyclical time and ‘modern’ time.
• Railways:
  • Required all towns to keep the same time.