Question
Why is the concept of time so important in Western culture?
Answer
Too complex to answer on Quora. Try Jeremy Rifkin's "Time Wars" (admittedly a left-liberal polemic) for a few good starting points.
If you want deeper, heavier starting points, David Landes Revolution in Time and J. T. Fraser's Time: the familiar stranger are better starting points. Bewarned: they are seriously dense.
Your "western culture" qualifier suggests that it is less important in other (particularly eastern) cultures. This is correct if you mean specifically a historicist, uni-directional, individual-subjective conception of time.
It is incorrect if you mean time in general. The cyclic and somewhat social nature of many Eastern notions of times leads to a certain timeless feel to the resulting metaphysics.
If you are interested in a more social-psychological and relatively surface level examination of the anthropology of time, Levine's Geography of Time is the best starting point. Jay Griffiths' A Sideways Look at Time is a leftist polemic to some extent, like Rifkin, but has some useful material.
If you want deeper, heavier starting points, David Landes Revolution in Time and J. T. Fraser's Time: the familiar stranger are better starting points. Bewarned: they are seriously dense.
Your "western culture" qualifier suggests that it is less important in other (particularly eastern) cultures. This is correct if you mean specifically a historicist, uni-directional, individual-subjective conception of time.
It is incorrect if you mean time in general. The cyclic and somewhat social nature of many Eastern notions of times leads to a certain timeless feel to the resulting metaphysics.
If you are interested in a more social-psychological and relatively surface level examination of the anthropology of time, Levine's Geography of Time is the best starting point. Jay Griffiths' A Sideways Look at Time is a leftist polemic to some extent, like Rifkin, but has some useful material.