Space and Time, and Spirituality

Author: Jin Xuekuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: This book is a unique scientific work on the origin and evolution of human spirituality and the concept of space-time, embodying the philosophy of "unity between heaven and humanity." The book is divided into 5 parts, 29 chapters, and 100 sub-sections, with the titles of each part, chapter, and sub-section actually representing propositions and arguments about human spirituality and the concept of space-time. Part 1 discusses how humans possess spatial-temporal awareness, making them animals with the ability to remember events. Part 2 explores the directionality of biological evolution and its mechanical principles. Part 3 examines the unity among human nature, biological nature, and material nature. Part 4 covers the history of human understanding of time and space. Part 5 delves into the evolution of humanity's concept of the universe. Target Audience: This book is suitable for readers with a junior high school education or higher, particularly young students and scholars who are eager to explore. It will also be helpful and inspiring for those engaged in scientific research and the exploration of the unknown world.
Event Memory and Rational Thinking – Human Spatial-Temporal Awareness
Dr. John Freeman once wrote about the intellectual development of children: "There are also some particularly sensitive periods in a child's life when learning advances rapidly. One such period ends around the age of four, and another occurs between the ages of four and eight." So, what exactly happens between the ages of four and eight? To understand this, we can either observe children in this age group or reflect on our own childhood experiences and analyze them. In my memory, the earliest and most vivid events occurred around the ages of four or five. The first event happened one afternoon in summer. After my bath, an adult carried me onto a long bench and gave me a small bowl of something to eat, which I believe was watermelon juice. I was happy, but somehow, I didn’t hold the bowl properly and dropped it to the ground. With a loud crash, the ceramic bowl shattered. At that moment, I received a slap, and fear and terror deeply rooted in my young heart.
The second event occurred on a warm spring afternoon when flowers were in bloom. I took a nap in a very comfortable corridor and, upon waking, smelled a particularly fragrant aroma. My family saw me awake and brought me a small bowl of food, saying, "This is fried scallion rice." It was truly delicious! As I grew older, especially in my later years, I often wished I could recapture the original flavor of that "fried scallion rice," but I could never quite get it right.
The third event took place on a clear morning. My parents went out, and I was left alone at home, which I enjoyed. I had an older cousin who worked at a pharmacy, and he gave me a small syringe filled with water. By pushing the plunger, I could spray water out, just like the water guns that kids play with today. I was having a great time when my parents returned. Seeing water sprayed all over the house, they flew into a rage, took the syringe from my hands, and threw it onto the roof of the neighboring house. I cried bitterly at the time, because it was the suppression of my young will to freedom.
These three events all occurred when I was around four or five years old. I am certain of this age because we moved after I turned five. Of course, I don’t know the exact year it happened, and at that time, I wouldn’t have even thought about my age. However, the three rooms I rented, the bathroom, the corridor where I ate the scallion rice, and the roof where I kept the syringe—all these places clearly date back to when I was four or five.
In 1999, I returned to my hometown and specifically visited my childhood home. Only one familiar person was still alive—a young aunt who had since aged. The old room, the corridor, and the roof of the tiled house, which are now rarely seen, seemed to whisper to me about my childhood behavior and the emotions that were beginning to stir. How familiar the place was, yet the most vivid memories were the three events mentioned above. (Readers can also reflect on their earliest and most memorable childhood experiences and compare them with this text.)
This is what is called event memory. The characteristics of event memory are:
· Temporal information—even in the absence of clocks, there is a certain temporal quality that can be remembered and recalled, such as seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter) and times (day, night, morning, afternoon, sunny, rainy).
· Spatial information—the surrounding environment, scientifically speaking, is the spatial dimension, such as houses, roads, modes of transportation, scenes, and people.
· Processual information—changes over time, especially novel and unexpected developments.
· Personal emotions and psychological activities—joy, sorrow, surprise, fear, longing, rebellion, etc.
· The last point is that it can beed through language or writing.
Therefore, event memory is a major leap for children after they learn to speak, representing a continuation and development of cognitive memory through language. Event memory is the sublimation of human intelligence, with its core being an abstract or rational understanding of time and space. By the ages of four or five, children, through their own experiences and constant guidance and education from adults, have formed a preliminary concept of time and space.
What is time? It is years, months, days, morning, noon, afternoon, day, night, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Time is the repetition of periodic spatial phenomena, but for human life, it is irreversible and priceless—time from birth to death, from childhood to old age, from small to large. The common language of humanity in time is the past, present, and future. For the past, all events are certain, but where is it? It is merely an imprint in your mind, something that can never beed. For the future, all events are uncertain—what is often said is, "Heaven has unpredictable weather, and humans face sudden misfortune." For the present moment, it is both visible and certain, yet it slips away.
What is space? It is front, back, left, right, above, below, the sky, the earth, the sun, the moon, and the stars. Is space empty? P42-43