The Sense of Time: Physics with First-Person Perspective

This paper argues that the sense of time is neither (by definition) mind independent —"out there" in the world — nor exclusively "within the subject", but rather results from an ongoing dialogue between the subject and the object; it is rooted in the subject-object structure (perceiver and perceived). As will be demonstrated in this paper, this structure requires an egocentric-bodily and first person perspective upon the world but, no less importantly, it requires the world. According to the physicalist approach (physicalism), physical theories should be able to explain perfectly all layers of reality – including the sense of time, which is part of human experience and therefore part of reality. Thus if the sense of time requires a first person perspective on the world, then physical theories explaining the world must incorporate an egocentric-bodily and first-person perspective upon the world, along with all the ramifications of rejecting or accepting this principle.