The notion that time is linear and progressive has been central to Western thought since ancient times. Aristotle's belief in the unidirectional movement of time was adopted by Christian thinkers such as St. Augustine, who argued that humans must strive towards eternal life after death, and later influenced by Descartes' conception of time as an unchanging measure of change. This view was challenged by Nietzsche, who rejected its implication that there is a single goal for all people to achieve, arguing instead that individuals should pursue their own unique paths to greatness through self-overcoming. Queer temporal philosophy builds upon this critique by questioning the assumptions about identity, ethics, and growth embedded within linear time.
In contrast to the teleological view of time, queer temporal philosophers propose alternative models based on nonlinearity, circularity, and cyclicality.
Deleuze and Guattari suggest that we can conceptualize time as a rhizome rather than a tree or a line, allowing for multiple perspectives and possibilities. Butler highlights the role of the past in shaping present identities, while Irigaray emphasizes how women are denied agency due to traditional models of progression. In both cases, these authors problematize linear time as limiting and restrictive.
Beyond critiquing teleology, queer temporal philosophy also offers new ways of thinking about temporality that challenge normative ideas about identity and growth.
Butler rejects binary categories such as male/female and heterosexual/homosexual, instead proposing that gender and sexuality are fluid and constantly changing. Irigaray argues that we need a more nuanced understanding of intimacy that goes beyond eroticism, suggesting instead an "exchange of energies" between two bodies.
Queer temporal philosophy resists the assumption that humans are meant to progress towards a predetermined end goal and opens up possibilities for different forms of being and relating to one another. By challenging assumptions about time, it offers new perspectives on sex, sexuality, eroticism, and relationships, promoting a more flexible and inclusive way of living.
In what ways does queer temporal philosophy resist teleological assumptions about identity, ethics, and growth?
Queer temporal philosophy is a critical approach that challenges traditional concepts of time, identity, and change by interrogating dominant narratives of progress and linearity. It resists teleological assumptions about the future, the self, and social development through its focus on intersectionality, multiplicity, and temporality.