The Temporality of Damnation: Examining Linear and Non-Linear Responses to the Puzzle of Eternal Experience

Abstract

It is important to note that, though the following discussion may be characterized as a kind of philosophizing in regard to theological issues, the following is not a work of theology. That is, the intention is not to restate theological positions regarding eternal experience. Rather, the intention is to draw a series of questions together from disparate origins so as to bring into focus a philosophical perplexity, i.e., the mystery or puzzle of eternal experience. Given the perplexing nature of the questions involved, were this a theological discussion, faith would undoubtedly regulate each individual’s inevitable response to the concerns regarding an afterlife, concerns which are inextricably entwined with the execution of human action itself. Yet, since the following is a philosophical discussion, readers should hope for at least the following: first, an appreciation of the perplexity involved regarding the puzzle of eternal experience; second, an understanding of how different philosophical formulations of responses to the puzzle; lastly, a philosophical visualization of experience developed by thinking through temporality as a proposed solution to the puzzle.