“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, so that evidently there cannot be number; for number is either what has been, or what can be, counted.”
- 384 BC – 322 BC
- Originating from Macedonia in ancient Greece
- Philosopher and scientist, founder of the Lyceum academy
- A student of Plato, he constructed systematic knowledge in logic, biology, politics, ethics, etc., and had a major impact on the development of Western thought and science
Quote
“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, so that evidently there cannot be number; for number is either what has been, or what can be, counted.”
Explanation
In this quote, Aristotle explores the relationship between time, soul, and number, proposing a thought-provoking connection. He suggests that time is inherently tied to the ability of a conscious being (the soul) to count or measure it. If there were no soul—or no conscious being to perceive time—then there would be no concept of time. The notion of time requires awareness to divide and count moments, which is essentially a mental construct. Time, as Aristotle implies, cannot exist independently without someone to measure or experience it. Furthermore, number is the result of counting—if there were no conscious being to do the counting, there would be no number or sequence of time.
This idea has philosophical relevance even in modern discussions of consciousness and time. Today, we understand that time is both a physical phenomenon (measurable by clocks and calendars) and a conceptual one (dependent on human perception and cognitive abilities). Without conscious beings to observe or measure the passing of moments, the concept of time would be meaningless. Similarly, number relies on our ability to group and quantify, and without awareness, there would be no need for mathematics or counting.
For example, in the absence of human or animal perception, we may still have the physical concept of time (the earth’s rotation, the orbit of planets), but there would be no awareness of its passage or any way to divide it into units such as seconds, minutes, or years. Aristotle’s insight points to the interdependence of consciousness and measurement, reminding us that both time and numbers are rooted in our ability to perceive and quantify the world around us.
