Differing conceptions of time

Ethnic, national and cultural traditions, often embedded in languages and in ways of looking at the world, see historical time very differently. Time budgets at various parts of the world are fundamentally different. The individual's assessment of his position with respect to society – and the world – are essentially time-related concepts; which vary greatly across the surface of the globe. These differences prejudge how people regard war and peace, life and death, good and evil. They influence the way people negotiate. They inform peoples' value judgments in all things; and many of these different views are totally incompatible.