The buildings examined in this site are the product of financially hungry building projects and raising the money to begin construction represented an achievement in itself. Prominent men and women could also afford to make large contributions to the building project. The programs for cornerstone laying ceremonies read like a local street map, including the names of people like James Douglas, Eli Harrison, and Matthew Bailley Begbie. The settler community was small, local heroes and political movers liked public attention, and the bonds between the few respectable “men” in Victoria were strong.
Just as their American cousins had no trouble constructing a history worth celebrating out of their short nationhood, Victoria’s Victorians saw themselves as the authors and heroes of history in the establishment of the colony. In Victoria’s Victoria, the Freemasons and other membership-based organizations created a sense of community within the middle class that was based on a set of shared values. These two theories show us that after centuries of debate there is still no conclusive answer to the questions: What is time? Why is it important? According to eternalism the past and the future are real but are not present to us. According to presentism only the present exists. In contemporary philosophy there are two main theories of time: Presentism and Externalism. The debate surrounding time continues in the present day. Thus, there is an infinite past and an infinite future. Nietzsche wrote of time as having a circular characteristic. Schopenhauer said, “time is the condition of the possibility of succession” which was in accordance with the work of the earlier philosopher Immanuel Kant. Philosophers of the Victorian era that theorized time include Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900) and Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 – 1860). This documentation of time is also evidenced by time capsules. Documenting the past was seen as the responsibility of people of the era. Dora Panayotova in, “Time Perception in Nineteenth Century England” cites the harshness of the industrial revolution for the rise of autobiography, journaling, and diary writing in the Victorian era. It became common to document the quickly receding past. The industrial revolution led many to look to the past as a safe refuge from the chaotic and harsh present. Many who lived in the Victorian era also lived through the industrial revolution. This forced people of the era to question their prior understanding of time. Bodies, tools, and artifacts were found from a time that predated the current understanding of time. These were the first discoveries of their kind.
The first discoveries of Neanderthal (Homo neanderthalensis) remains were found in the Victorian era. Due to the introduction of standard time, people of the Victorian era became more time conscious. Prior to railways, time was measured more naturally by “local time.” However, railways required the use of “standard time” for the sake of precision. By the Victorian era (1837 to 1901) railways existed in Britain. The steam engine was invented in 1782 and by the early 1800’s the first railways were created. The Victorian perception of time changed with the railway. Perceptions of time are shaped by current events therefore, these perceptions change through the ages. We count time with agreed upon counters yet we do not agree that time can be counted. The Oxford English Dictionary defines time as, “a limited stretch or space of continued existence.” Many have theorized on the subject of time however, there is still no agreement on exactly what time is. What is time? Why is it important? Time is a difficult term to define. Traditions Theories and Perceptions of Time in the Victorian Era
#Time capsule lost judgment full#
The Edges of Time: Cornerstones and Time Capsules of Early Victoria The Edges of Time: Cornerstones and Time Capsules of Early Victoria Full Site Text
0 kommentar(er)
