| The awareness and consciousness of time, especially in relation to the calendar systems, have profound implications for how we choose to live our lives. This thesis explores theories of time-consciousness, such as those of Kant, Husserl, Heidegger, and Sartre. Aspects of the understanding of time reflected in simple communicative gestures, as well as elements of our language such as tense, are also explored. Theoretical concepts in the natural sciences, culminating with Einstein's general theory of relativity, are examined, revealing that the rate at which we experience time is literally dependent upon our motion, and upon our proximity to mass in space. How technologies for tracking the moments of the day (from sky observations to sundials to mechanical clocks and wristwatches) are explored up until the advent of atomic clocks, which have standardized each second of time around the globe. The manner in which numerous calendars have been devised for tracking days, weeks, months, and years is summarized, including the Greek, Hebrew, and Chinese lunisolar calendars, the Islamic lunar calendar, and the Egyptian and Western solar calendars. The unique Mayan calendar is explicated. How most calendar reform movements have been based on the shared social experience of time as a characteristic of cultural identity is made clear and the concept that, despite its Christian heritage, the Western calendar has become a harbinger of global social unification is examined. The Thesis concludes with a summary of how temporal consciousness and the tracking of time's passage profoundly affect society as well as the human sense of self. |
