An Assessment of the Concept of Time on the Basis of the Views of Ibn-Sina (Avicenna) in Relation to Futures Study

The issue of time is an ancient philosophical problem having engaged the thought of philosophers. Like other creations, the time is of God which has always had a progressive movement. Time has various significances with regard to hierarchical and classified roles, speed and acceleration, horizon and various lengths for phenomena. Hence, time can be considered as the foundation of birth, growth, development and extinction of all phenomena. Each phenomenon contains its own time-based characteristics. This research is aimed at identifying the relationship between Avicenna’s theory of time and the futures study. The data is collected by the library method and the document reviewing through logical-philosophical reasoning method. According to Avicenna, time contains the quantity of motion, and man realizes that the being of time is apparent and real, and not imaginary, with reference to his conscience, thought and intellect. Therefore, with reference to the concept of time, it should be noted in futures study that the future, as a part of time, is accompanied by motion. Hence, knowing the future, creating the future, and building society require a real knowledge of how societies move.