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CHAPTER 1

SPACETIME INCEPTION: A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS

Our everyday perception of the universe comes from looking up at the

sky to see the Sun in the daytime and, more profoundly, to see

thousands of stars in the night sky.some of the oldest questions since

the beginnings of human thought are: How large is the universe? Did it

ever begin? What are the principal constituents of the present universe?

Will (space) time ever end? (Frampton 1).

From the time when man started to radically question the world around him and its

numerous mysteries, he observed that nature was in a constant state of flux. The

space which he inhabited was continuously forming, demolishing, and re-forming

itself through a certain period of time. This prompted him to ponder over the very

center of these magical transformations in nature. This culminated in the discovery

of the phenomenon called change which was constantly happening around in nature.

With the idea of change came the concept of spacetime. Change has always been a

consistent phenomenon. It is an obvious fact that spacetime and its presence can only

be perceived through observing this change that is happening all around the world,

up in the cosmos, and in the universe beyond. But it is highly essential that change

and spacetime both are to be observed, analyzed, and judged. Only through the

careful scrutiny using the senses and reason, we can determine the presence of

change and the passing of something, that something called spacetime.


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Spacetime, as we know it today, was not so dominant before. Philosophers and

Scientists may debate on the question of when spacetime began. But that is a

completely different and complex question with a number of answers, each

contradicting or supporting the other. Spacetime needs to be perceived and observed

and the whole question of its origin can be set aside for the more important one of how

it was considered by human beings, how it became a dominant phenomenon, how it

governed human thinking and consciousness, and how it became a powerful entity that

controlled our very existence, our life, our death, and our history.

Scientists agree that civilization actually began with the end of the ice age,

some 12,000 years ago. Progress from a prehistoric state was made possible because

man was inquisitive; philosophy was always in the blood of man. He perceived the

changes happening in nature, the change from light to darkness, the movement of the

heavenly bodies, and the endless yet periodic cycles of life and death. Living in a

social setup generated a sense of order and this need for order further gave strengthto studying the changes happening around and especially the influence of spacetime.

Aristotle was highly concerned with the changes that happened in nature. This

change seemed to prompt us to believe in the presence of spacetime. Aristotle said:

Whether, if soul did not exist, time would exist or not, is a question that may fairly be

asked; for if there cannot be someone to count there cannot be anything that can be

counted(Aristotle 29). Thus he proposes that when we are ready to observe,

perceive and record change, we can easily understand the passing of spacetime. But

when we disregard change and quit observing the passage of spacetime, it ceases to


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exist. Human reason and intellect thus plays a vital role in our understanding of

spacetime. Aristotle claimed that time is the measure of change but also that time is

not change because a change may be faster or slower, but not time (Aristotle

32). He advocates the notion that there is no time apart from change (41).

Aristotle considered spacetime as a natural entity similar to matter itself, something

which is hard to divide and something which is continuous. He said, In respect of

size there is no minimum; for every line is divided ad infinitum . Hence it is so with

time (Aristotle 36).

Aristotle also propagated the notion of absolute spacetime. He believed that

events determine the passage of spacetime, the period between two events which when

measured gives you the exact spacetime for these events to happen. Aristotle might

have been considering the natural events that took place all around nature. The

seasonal cycles and other such natural phenomenon could have been predicted thus

with some accuracy (Gaarder 107). Thus with the ideas of Aristotle, who dominatedworld thinking and philosophy for a considerable amount of time, the notion of

spacetime being absolute got a firm foundation. Aristotle also considered time to be

a separate entity from space. Later on his ideas were widely challenged; it became

clear that there was no such thing as absolute spacetime because it cannot be perceived

directly. We evaluate and understand spacetime differently, spacetime is different for

different people, even when two people are observing the same event their evaluation

of spacetime would be different.


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Christian Theologians who had their deep faith in divine power of God behind

the creation of the universe, believed spacetime also as an entity created by god. St.

Augustine was of the opinion that spacetime never existed before our universe was

created. But he does not hesitate to share his confusion with the philosophers of his

time regarding the definition of spacetime when he says: What then is time? If no one

asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks me, I do not know

(Augustine 18). St. Augustine had a very subjective view of spacetime. His ideas on

spacetime can be related with those of Aristotle. He firmly believed that spacetime is

nothing in reality but exists only in the minds apprehension of that reality.

Spacetime gradually started to dominate over our consciousness and thus a

need arose to generate methods to measure it, to contain it, to dominate it. Not all

human beings who lived in societies at that time felt the need to record spacetime.

Some were quite happy with observing the single most powerful entity that was seen

producing change- the sun. It was the giver of life, the destroyer, and the perpetuator of life. Observing the sun and its shifting from one position in the sky to the next was

more than enough to understand the passing of spacetime. But while living in a

civilized setup one felt the need for proper spacetime-keeping. Clocks were made in

the Middle East and Africa some 5000 to 6000 years ago. The need for order

prompted men to make clocks. Agriculture, religious festivities, and other social

activities required some kind of order; this order was provided by the keeping of

spacetime.


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Spacetime was always present, but even when man tried to measure it he could

never explain what it was, or where it could be found. But spacetime can be measured

with relation to some matter, or the motion of matter. The notion of spacetime

continuously flowing started to strengthen then, this was assisted by the invention of

the hourglass and the water clock. In an hourglass, the flow of sand, which was

carefully measured, reminded us of the flow of spacetime. The water clocks were

designed in such a way that the measured dripping of water governed our

measurement of spacetime. Hence spacetime was equated with the flow of particles, of

matter. The ideas of the philosopher Heraclites ring out clearly now. He had argued

that the only thing that was basic in nature was change and flow of spacetime.

Everything flows said Heraclites. Everything is in a state of flux and thus we

cannot step twice into the same river (Gaarder 54).

Still spacetime was mostly perceived through the cyclic, regular occurrence of

certain phenomenon. The seasonal cycle was vital in this, together with theobservation of the cosmos- the sun, the moon, and the stars. The wonders of the sky

(and the space beyond) were numerous. Cosmology thus played a vital part in forming

the concept of spacetime. The stars and their different constellations were considered

to signal some incident that might happen later in spacetime. The eclipse of the moon

also helped in determining days, months, and years. Religion too started to take root,

with its faith grounded in the human perception of change and the passing of

spacetime, spacetime which was just one among the entities which served the all

powerful perpetuator of this change- God.


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Clocks thus began to be recognized as devices capable of measuring spacetime, linear

spacetime. This was a period of a whole new scientific revolution of experimentation

and analysis. Proof of every hypothesis was provided and hence science became more

accurate and popularly acceptable. This influence of science dominated over the

masses and their ideas on spacetime. Newtons laws were even used to study the

motion of celestial bodies. His ground breaking laws on gravity and motion hence

opened a new chapter in the study of spacetime.

Newtons absolutism was refuted by Gottfried Leibniz. His studies were also

based on change. Leibniz proposed his theories on spacetime which he considered to

be relative; he said I hold space to be something merely relativeas an order of

coexistences, as time is an order of successions (Jolley 39).Newton challenged the

theories of Leibniz with his remarks on spacetime: Absolute space, in its own nature,

without relation to anything external, always remains similar and immovable (Jolley

39). Leibniz objected to Newtons views and proposed his relational theory of spacetime. His argument again was that spacetime was not an entity which had an

independent existence. It too depended on the happening of events no matter how

irregular they were. Leibniz considered the overall ordering of events as time.

The German philosopher Immanuel Kant considered spacetime as a form of

human intuition. He considered the relationship of spacetime with the human mind, a

unique concept at that time. Spacetime, for him, was more how the mind of a person

perceived it. Kant felt that human senses could only perceive the world through

spacetime. In his Critique of Pure Reason he says that the representation of space


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ships were lost at sea or were destroyed because of the inability to calculate precise

spacetime. With the invention of the chronometer by Harrison, navigation became

easier. Thus the quest for spacetime, in a way, assisted sea explorations. Such

explorations would later assist in colonization and imperialism is another aspect of this

altogether.

By the early 1800s mechanical parts identical to each other were produced

which facilitated the mass production of clocks. Clocks became cheaper and popular.

Families could now afford for them, spacetime started to become more personal, in a

sense a consumer item. From here begins the steps which would lead to todays lack

of regard for spacetime. The concept of linear spacetime, as promoted by Barrow,

Newton, Kant and other philosophers and scientists was still strong during this period.

This strengthened the place of the concept of linear spacetime in the mentality of

nineteenth century European science and philosophy.

Up until the beginning of the 20th

century, people continued to believe inabsolute spacetime. With Albert Einstein science found new ways to challenge the

notions of absolute spacetime. Albert Einstein was a German physicist whose path

breaking findings on the general and special relativity paved way to a fresh

understanding of spacetime in science. He demonstrated spacetime as not being an

absolute entity which flowed at a fixed rate (Parsons 113). He proved that spacetime,

is relative to the degree of motion of the observer (depending on the position of the

observer, distances either seem to compress or stretch, and clocks to run faster or more

slowly) (Parsons 113). Spacetime measurements thus could never have absolute,


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universal meaning. This groundbreaking theory in science put an end to absolute

spacetime. Spacetime became more personal, each person who experienced an event

in spacetime must perceive it differently. Stephen Hawking in his A Brief History of

Time says The theory of relativity, however, forces us to change fundamentally our

ideas of space and time. We must accept that time is not completely separate from and

independent of space (Hawking 52) To quote Hawking again:

the discovery that the speed of light appeared the same to every

observer, no matter how he was moving, led to the theory of relativity

and in that one had to abandon the idea that there was a unique absolute

time. Instead, each observer would have his own measure of time as

recorded by a clock that he carried: clocks carried by different

observers would not necessarily agree. Thus time became a more

personal concept, relative to the observer who measured it (Hawking

60).Relative spacetime is considered with regard to some motion. This is similar

to the measuring of spacetime using the rhythmical motion of a pendulum, a clock or

the motion of the heavenly bodies. Relative spacetime is against the notion of absolute

spacetime and hence it may not be accurate. It will vary from person to person. The

theory of relativity is grounded in the study of light and its speed. The speed of light is

now used to measure spacetime.

Henri Bergson was of the opinion that spacetime as it is experienced by the

consciousness is entirely different from the spacetime which we have come to take for


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granted through the configurations of clocks and calendars. Subjective consciousness

is vital to understand spacetime and to actually experience it. Bergson supported the

claims for the union of space and time into one entity called spacetime. He was of

the opinion that through our subjective perception of spacetime we can experience

spacetime as it really is: a continuum in which past, and present interpenetrate or

melt into each other (Parsons 111). Bergson calls this duration.

Another development was in the concept of relationship between space and

time, a unique concept of space time was formulated (at last!). In the very words of

Hermann Minkowski who played a vital role in promoting this concept of the union of

space and time: Henceforth space by itself, and time by itself, are doomed to fade

away into mere shadows, and only a kind of union of the two will preserve an

independent reality (Petkov 81). Minkowski was Einsteins former tutor and his ideas

helped Einstein in formulating his theory of Relativity which demonstrated and further

expanded on the claims that space and time are inseparable: time and spaceneeded to be understood as inseparable: as a combination of three-dimensional space

plus a fourth dimension of time (Parsons 112). Scientific discoveries in the field of

astronomy aided in the understanding of the universe and through it the concept of

spacetime. Edwin Hubbles observations suggested the possibility of a Big Bang as

the reason behind the origin of the universe and with it the birth of spacetime.

In this period heated debates were also held on whether spacetime is real or

just an imaginary construct. The philosopher John Ellis Mc Taggart was foremost in

this debate. He joined the long line of early philosophers including Zeno, Plato,


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Spinoza, and Hegel by claiming that spacetime did not exist. Philosophers including

Mc Taggart claimed that the passage of spacetime was mere illusion and the only real

entity was the present. He argues that the relationship between the past, present, and

the future is continuously changing, but spacetime is based upon this relationship

between past, present, and the future. A concept which keeps on changing and has no

firm base to stand upon is a false concept; hence spacetime is merely an illusion. In the

words of Mc Taggart from his The Unreality of Time,

Position in time, as time appears to usare distinguished in two ways.

Each position is earlier than some, and later than some, of the other

positions. And each position is either past, present, or future. The

distinctions of the former class are permanent, while those of the latter

are not. But an event, which is now present, was future and will be

past (Sherover 282).

Mc Taggart further asserts his claims by saying, it because the distinctions of past, present and future seem to be essential for time, time is unreal. Mc Taggart

implements his theories on spacetime to study the concept of history. He observes

that historical events have same spacetime characteristics as made up stories.

Stories and histories are based upon the past, present, and the future; concepts which

he proved as ever changing, hence histories, which rely on the memory of the past,

which varies from person to person is no better than made up stories (Sherover 278-

285).


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The advancement in science has facilitated the better understanding of our

universe. The quest for understanding our origins thus becomes a quest to crack the

confusion surrounding spacetime. Stephen Hawking and his revelations regarding the

Big Bang have proved to be vital. He considers the logical possibility that spacetime

might have had its beginning with the Big Bang since an earlier time simply would

not be defined (Hawking 64). According to him, the laws of science do not

distinguish between the past and the future. Events are described as things that happen

at a particular point in spacetime. While spacetime is unique for all events, it too is

affected by the events that happen in the universe. Thus Hawking makes it clear that

our views of the nature of time have changed over the years.

Hawking uses the second law of thermodynamics, which says that in a closed

system disorder, or entropy, always increases with spacetime, to put forward his

unique concept of the Arrow of Time. He says that, The increase of disorder or

entropy with time is one example of what is called an arrow of time, something thatdistinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time (Hawking 187). His

views on the Psychological Arrow of Time is very insightful, according to him the

psychological arrow of time, is the direction in which we feel time passes, the

direction in which we remember the past but not the future (Hawking 188).

Recent debates have been held on discussing whether the universe really had a

beginning and with it did spacetime too began, and also whether with the end of this

universe spacetime too would end. Scientists have put forward the concept of the Big

Rip a phenomenon to happen some trillion years in the future. But these scientific


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getting due representation and reflection in fiction was high. While the fictional

universe tried to portray the world around as truthfully as possible (initially),

spacetime was utilized as a mode to order events and perceptions in a narrative. A

symbiosis was the vision behind such a cooperation, but unfortunately it did not take

effect due to numerous reasons.

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