Experiencing timelessness and the phenomenology of temporal flow

Our conscious experience typically includes a subjective sense that time is passing, but some philosophers deny that such a feeling exists. This paper argues that altered temporal experiences during deep meditation and psychedelic states serve as contrast cases that reveal the ordinary experience of time's passage. By examining these acute disturbances of normal temporal experience, the author contends that the elusive feeling of temporal flow can be identified and studied. The argument uses phenomenal contrast to establish that passage phenomenology is a genuine feature of conscious experience, making it a viable subject for philosophical theorizing.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Our conscious experience seemingly involves the subjective sense or feeling of the passage of time. However, in recent years, several authors have denied that such an aspect or feature of experience can be found. If the experience of the flow of time exists, it remains elusive and intangible. My aim here is to try to pin it down. For this purpose, I will investigate acute disturbances of normal temporal experience that accompany deep meditative and psychedelic states. I will argue that these experiences of altered temporality provide phenomenal contrast cases to ordinary passage phenomenology, allowing us to establish the existence of the latter and making it amenable to theorizing.