Eternity

An allegorical painting of a woman, representing eternity. She holds an hourglass, a skull rests on the table beside her, and an Ouroboros floats above her head. All of these are common symbols of eternity.

Eternity in common parlance is either an infinite or an indeterminately long period of time. In classical philosophy, however, eternity is defined as what exists outside time while sempiternity is the concept that corresponds to the colloquial definition of eternity.

Eternity is an important concept in many religions, where the God or the gods are said to endure eternally. Some, such as Aristotle, would say the same about the natural cosmos in regard to both past and future eternal duration, and like the eternal Platonic forms, immutability was considered essential.^[1]

Philosophy

Aristotle argued that the cosmos has no beginning. In Aristotle's metaphysics, eternity is the unmoved mover (God), understood as the gradient of total synergy ("produces motion by being loved").^[2] Boethius defined eternity as "simultaneously full and perfect possession of interminable life".^[3]

Symbolism

Eternity is often symbolized by the image of a snake swallowing its own tail, known as the Ouroboros (or Uroboros). The circle is also commonly used as a symbol for eternity, as is the mathematical symbol of infinity, .

• 
  The Ouroboros.
• 
  The "endless knot," a symbol of eternity used in Tibetan Buddhism.
• 
  Infinity symbol variations.

This folk-art allegorical map titled "The 3 Roads to Eternity" is based on Matthew 7:13-14 Bible Gateway by the woodcutter Georgin François in 1825.

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Eternity

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eternity.

• Aeon
• Armenian eternity sign
• Chronology of the universe
• Eternalism (philosophy of time)
• Eternal return
• God and eternity
• Philosophical presentism
• Planck epoch
• Time perception
• Temporal finitism

References

External links

Look up eternity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/eternity/ Entry in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on Eternity.
• http://www.iep.utm.edu/g/god-time.htm Entry in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy on the relationship between God and Time.

Time
Key concepts	Human Life Nature Past history deep time Present Future Futures studies Far future in religion Far future in science fiction and popular culture Timeline of the far future Eternity Eternity of the world
Measurement and standards	Chronometry UTC UT TAI Unit of time Planck time Second Minute Hour Day Week Month Year Decade Century Millennium Tropical year Sidereal year Measurement systems Time zone 12-hour clock 24-hour clock Daylight saving time Solar time Sidereal time Metric time Decimal time Hexadecimal time Calendars Gregorian Julian Hebrew Islamic Lunar Solar Hijri Mayan Intercalation Leap second Leap year
Clocks	Horology History of timekeeping devices Main types astrarium atomic quantum marine sundial sundial markup schema watch water-based
Chronology History	Astronomical chronology Big History Calendar era Chronicle Deep time Periodization Regnal year Timeline
Religion Mythology	Dreamtime Kāla Kalachakra Prophecy Time and fate deities Wheel of time Immortality
Philosophy of time	A-series and B-series B-theory of time Causality Duration Endurantism Eternal return Eternalism Event Perdurantism Presentism Temporal finitism Temporal parts The Unreality of Time
Human experience and use of time	Accounting period Chronemics Fiscal year Generation time Mental chronometry Music Procrastination Punctuality Temporal database Term Time discipline Time management Time perception Specious present Time-tracking software Time-use research Time-based currency (time banking) Time value of money Time clock Timesheet Yesterday
Time in	Geology Geological time age chron eon epoch era period Geochronology Geological history of Earth Physics Absolute time and space Arrow of time Chronon Coordinate time Imaginary time Planck epoch Planck time Proper time Rate Spacetime Theory of relativity Time dilation gravitational Time domain T-symmetry other subject areas Chronological dating Chronobiology Circadian rhythms Dating methodologies in archaeology Time geography
Related topics	Carpe diem Clock position Space System time Tempus fugit Time capsule Time complexity Time signature Time travel
Time portal

Philosophy of time
Concepts in time	Time Duration A priori and a posteriori Eternity Event Action Deterministic system Free will Eternal return A-series and B-series Temporal parts Growing block universe Multiple time dimensions	Time Portal
Theories of time	Determinism Temporal finitism Fatalism Indeterminism Compatibilism and incompatibilism Presentism Eternalism Four dimensionalism Endurantism Perdurantism B-Theory of time
Related articles	Metaphysics Etiology Teleology Post hoc ergo propter hoc The Unreality of Time The Singular Universe and the Reality of Time