Time

(From L. tempus). One of the most general concepts that characterize the universe. In different cultures t. is conceived of and measured in different ways. In ancient times the notion of t. emerged as cyclical t., measuring the rhythm of the processes of nature and the human being as part of nature. To measure these cyclic processes, calendars based on movements of the sun, moon and planets were used. The spread of Christianity contributed to the introduction of the uni linear notion of t. to measure the sacred periods of history as the process of salvation of humankind, from the act of the creation of the universe to the final judgment. This principle was extended to civil history as well, while nature was considered an temporal phenomenon. With the rise of science and the use of the mechanical clock, the telescope and the microscope, the notion of linear t., irreversible and ascending, allowed the formulation of evolutionary theory to explain the phenomena of nature, which was subsequently applied to the phenomena of society and culture as well. To measure political processes, the concept of political t. was introduced, and the theory of synchronic and diachronic chron-politics was developed. The first is used in political science and the second in world history and futurology.