Time and agency : sublating conceptions of the future in St Augustine and the Later Mohist Canon

Rošker, Jana S. (author)

Our understanding of time, including the future, is grounded in a universal percep- tion shared across cultures. However, the ways in which this universal perception is comprehended differ significantly, shaped by the linguistic structures of various lan- guages and the broader culturally conditioned frameworks of reference they are part of. These differences in comprehension give rise to diverse models of the future, offering unique insights into alternative perspectives on the metaphysics of time and its relation to the philosophy of action. This paper explores these alternative perspectives through a comparative analysis of the Later Mohist view from ancient Chinese thought and St Augustine’s introspective framework, influential in West- ern philosophy. By employing the method of transcultural comparative sublation, the study uncovers the strengths and limitations of each perspective, showing how diverse approaches to time deepen our understanding of the future as both a realm of possibility and a structural feature of reality. This dialogue encourages criti- cal reflection on human agency, ethics, and the role of time in shaping existence, potentially revealing new perspectives on their interconnections and implications.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Chinese philsophy, sublation, transcultural philsophy, comparative philsophy, St Augustine, Mozi, Late Mohists, Time, Future, Agency
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 12.09.2025
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. [1-24]
• Numbering: Vol. 53, ahead-of-print
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-173472
• UDC: 1(510)
• ISSN on article: 1574-9274
• DOI: 10.1007/s11406-025-00908-8
• COBISS.SI-ID: 249182723
• Publication date in RUL: 17.09.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Philosophia
• Publisher: Springer Netherlands
• ISSN: 1574-9274
• COBISS.SI-ID: 517636633

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: kitajska filozofija, sublacija, transkulturna filozofija, primerjalna filozofija, Sv. Avguštin, Mozi, Pozni moisti, čas, prihodnost, delovanje

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: J6-50208
• Name: Novi teoretski pristopi k primerjalni transkulturni filozofiji in metoda sublacije

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P6-0243
• Name: Azijski jeziki in kulture