102 "BECOMING" 



system of partitions in the four-dimensional world 

 (world-wide instants). These are artificial and relative 

 and by no means correspond to anything indicated to 

 us by the time of consciousness. Secondly, we recognise 

 in the relativity theory something called a temporal 

 relation which is absolutely distinct from a spatial 

 relation. One consequence of this distinction is that the 

 mind attached to a material body can only traverse a 

 temporal relation; so that, even if there is no closer 

 connection, there is at least a one-to-one correspondence 

 between the sequence of phases of the mind and a 

 sequence of points in temporal relation. Since the mind 

 interprets its own sequence as a time of consciousness, we 

 can at least say that the temporal relation in physics 

 has a connection with the time of consciousness which 

 the spatial relation does not possess. I doubt if the 

 connection is any closer. I do not think the mental 

 sequence is a "reading off" of the physical temporal 

 relation, because in physics the temporal relation is 

 arrowless. I think it is a reading off of the physical 

 entropy-gradient, since this has the necessary arrow. 

 Temporal relation and entropy-gradient, both rigorously 

 defined in physics, are entirely distinct and in general 

 are not numerically related. But, of course, other things 

 besides time can "keep time"; and there is no reason 

 why the generation of the random element in a special 

 locality of the brain should not proceed fairly uniformly. 

 In that case there will not be too great a divergence 

 between the passage of time in consciousness and the 

 length of the corresponding temporal relation in the 

 physical world. 



