Now, Factuality and Conditio Humana

Abstract

The relationship between inner and outer time is discussed. Inner time is intrinsically future directed and possesses the quality of a distinguished "now". Both of these qualities get lost in the operationalized external physical time, which, advancing towards more fundamental physics, tends to become more similar to space and even fade away as a fundamental notion. However, inner time as a constitutive feature of human existence holds its place in the heart of quantum theory and thermodynamics.