In my opinion we are on topic (for a change). Coberst raises the issue of "temporality" as a by-product of "cognition" (and its subsequent implication for religiosity) This certainly has relevance for a consideration of the phrase "abstract idea". Ironically, it was Heidegger in his anti-philosophical work (Being and Time) who concretised time as the essence of "existence", whereas Einstein's relativistic stance might imply time's abstract nature.

The "solution" if any, may well reside in differential uses of the word "time". Anthropologists underscore variation of usage when they cite languages (e.g. Hopi) with no conventional tenses.

Last edited by eccles; 09/15/09 04:31 PM.