Space, Time, and Modern Culture

One of the most significant developments of this century — a development that has affected all of us whether we are aware of it or not — is the easy and practically universal acceptance of what might be called the spatialization of thought and experience. Because we are so much in the middle of this phenomenon, few have noticed it. Most live this spatialization as if it were entirely normal. But historically speaking, it has not been the norm. The fact that it is now a “given” which almost no one questions has had important consequences for all aspects of contemporary life.