플로티노스와 아우구스티스의 시간론

Abstract

This article is a comparative study of Plotinus’ and Augustine’s theory of time. Among the ancients those who thought to grapple with the problem of time were Greeks and Israel, whose thought stood out in striking contrast to each other and had played an important role in the mind of posterity. In the spatial mentality of ancient Greeks time is dependent upon the movement of the heavenly bodies. They hold life to be recurring cycles of ages. Time is therefore conceived as a cycle of endless repetition. It moves about in the eternal circular course in which everything keeps recurring. In Israel, on the other hand, the mystery and meaning of time is not re- solved by appeal to the cosmic world of space. The Biblical understanding of time is ‘realistic time.’ Time is grasped in terms of purpose, will, and decision. It is confronted and encountered only by a transcendent Lord of time, who yet reveals divine self in the events of time. Thus, the time line is consistently carried through in its central significance for salvation and faith. Time is the means of which God makes use in order to carry out the plan of salvation. Ancient Greek striving for redemption seeks as its goal to be freed from the eternal circular course and thus to be freed from time itself. In early Christian thought, on the contrary, salvation, in keeping with the Biblical lin- ear understanding of time, is conceived in terms of a time process. While the ancient Greek view of time was represented by Plotinus, the early Christian view was deepened and decisively established by Augustine. He was ac- quainted with some ancient discussions of time, and was evidently deeply influenced by Plotinus’ reflection on this subject, as on so many others. Augustine’s theory of time was, however, his own personal solution to the puzzles. Augustine’s view of time was formed and settled by Scripture which pro- claims the creation of the world by God. His view apparently seems to be cosmological like those of Greek philosophers; however, his ultimate con- cern is about the ineffable encounter between God and the human soul. In solving the problems of time, he indeed strives to search for the soul’s way to God. From the psychological point of view, Augustine begins a new un- derstanding of time, which presents a marked contrast to that of Plotinus. For Augustine time is real in the human soul. Unlike Plotinus who lacks the dimension of lived experience in the treatment of time, Augustine ponders on time in the human experience and relates it to the life and destiny of the human soul. His view that time can be perceived only within our own proc- ess of memory and anticipation is one of his distinctive contributions to the investigation of the concept of time.