Penser ensemble le temps et l’espace

Abstract

We propose to think together the concepts of space and time : they involve the same degrees of freedom of the elements of the world and always work in tandem. Their foundations are to be discussed, not inside a thinking of substance (each is defined by a series of characters of its own) but inside a thinking of relation (each is defined in opposition to the other). We oppose spatial relations to temporal relations, or relative immobility to relative mobility relations. The decision of the boundary between the two is subject to arbitrary (we have a great flexibility in the definitions of the associated space and time parameters) and does not avoid logical and conceptual difficulties similar to those encountered in quantum mechanics. We should revise from this perspective both concepts of time and space : time does not flow, it is a change in the relations, it is movement ; space is abstracted from constant relations or constant portions of movement. The relative movements that express these (changing or not changing) relations always include a spatial aspect and a temporal aspect, as heads and tails of the same reality. We propose to see more generally in any relation, a spatial aspect (the gap between the two terms of the relation) and a temporal aspect (the travel along the path that connects them). On this basis, we propose a research program to examine a number of fundamental problems of contemporary physics, as well as ideas to rethink about the way we use the words related to time and to space in human and social sciences, culture and even everyday life.