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No one doubts but that we imagine time from the very fact that we imagine other bodies to be moved slower or faster or equally fast. We are accustomed to determine duration by the aid of some measure of motion.
Baruch Spinoza
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Time is understood through our perception of motion and the movement of objects.

In this quote, Baruch Spinoza suggests that our concept of time is inherently tied to our observations of motion. We perceive time as a duration based on how we see objects moving, whether they are moving quickly, slowly, or at a constant pace. Thus, time is not an abstract idea but rather something grounded in the physical world and our experiences with it.

Themes

TimeMotionPerceptionPhilosophyDuration

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about the nature of time during a philosophy class.

More from Baruch Spinoza

The greatest pride, or the greatest despondency, is the greatest ignorance of one's self.
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A man is as much affected pleasurably or painfully by the image of a thing past or future as by the image of a thing present.
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He who seeks to regulate everything by law is more likely to arouse vices than to reform them. It is best to grant what cannot be abolished, even though it be in itself harmful. How many evils spring from luxury, envy, avarice, drunkenness and the like, yet these are tolerated because they cannot be prevented by legal enactments.
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Fear cannot be without hope nor hope without fear. [They are the two sides of a coin, so learning how to manage fear through learning, understanding, rationality, controlled imagination, preparation, mental focus (including distraction) and a gratitude attitude is very helpful.]
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He who wishes to revenge injuries by reciprocal hatred will live in misery. But he who endeavors to drive away hatred by means of love, fights with pleasure and confidence; he resists equally one or many men, and scarcely needs at all the help of fortune. Those whom he conquers yield joyfully
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To give aid to every poor man is far beyond the reach and power of every man. Care of the poor is incumbent on society as a whole.
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