The Study of Time

1. Front Matter

   Pages I-VIII

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2. Reflections on the History of the Concept of Time

   1. Reflections on the History of the Concept of Time

      • G. J. Whitrow

      Pages 1-11

3. Time and the Physical Sciences

   1. The Time Coordinate in Einstein’s Restricted Theory of Relativity

      • J. D. North

      Pages 12-32

   2. General Relativity and Time in the Solar System

      • G. C. McVittie

      Pages 33-38

   3. Zeit als physikalischer Begriff

      • Friedrich Hund

      Pages 39-52

   4. Time in Particle Physics

      • J. G. Taylor

      Pages 53-58

   5. Time in Statistical Physics and Special Relativity

      • P. T. Landsberg

      Pages 59-109

   6. The Myth of the Passage of Time

      • David Park

      Pages 110-121

   7. Time Asymmetry, Time Reversal, and Irreversibility

      • Mario Bunge

      Pages 122-130

   8. No Paradox in the Theory of Time Anisotropy

      • Olivier Costa de Beauregard

      Pages 131-139

   9. Pierre Curie’s Principle of One-Way Process

      • Lancelot Law Whyte

      Pages 140-147

   10. In Defence of the Direction of Time

       • K. G. Denbigh

       Pages 148-158

   11. Creative Time

       • Satosi Watanabe

       Pages 159-189

4. Time in the Life Sciences

   1. Temporal Order as the Origin of Spatial Order in Embryos

      • B. C. Goodwin

      Pages 190-199

   2. Time in the Evolutionary Process

      • John Maynard Smith

      Pages 200-205

   3. The Measurement of Perceptual Durations

      • Robert Efron

      Pages 207-218

   4. Oscillations as Possible Basis for Time Perception

      • Ernst Pöppe

      Pages 219-241

   5. Processing of Temporal Information and the Cognitive Theory of Time Experience

      • John A. Michon

      Pages 242-258

   6. The Psychophysical Structure of Temporal Information

      • G. Patrick Meredith

      Pages 259-273

   7. The Dimensions of the Sensible Present

      • H. A. C. Dobbs

      Pages 274-292

The First Conference of the International Society for the Study of Time was held at the Mathematisches Forschungsinstitut at Oberwolfach in the Black Forest, Federal Republic of Germany from Sunday, 31 August to Saturday, 6 September, 1969. The origin of this conference and the formation of the Society goes back to a proposal due to J. T. Fraser that was discussed at a conference on "Interdisciplinary Perspectives of Time" held by the New York Academy of Sciences in January, 1966. It was unanimously agreed than that an international society should be formed on an interdisciplinary basis with the object of stimulating interest in all problems concerning 'time and that this object could best be attained by means of conferences held at regular intervals. J. T. Fraser was elected Secretary, S. Watanabe Treasurer, and I was elected President. It was agreed, at my suggestion, that the organization of the first conference of the newly formed Society be left to a committee of these three officers, on the understanding that they would invite authorities on the role of time in the various special sciences and humanities to form an Advisory Board to assist them. One of the main difficulties in seeking support for an interdisciplinary conference is that most foundations confine their interest exclusively either to the sciences or to the humanities.

• Time
• forest
• logic
• philosophy
• society
• the origin

• Pleasantville, USA

  J. T. Fraser

• Department of History, University of Maryland, College Park, USA

  F. C. Haber

• Mathematisches Institut, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, West Germany

  G. H. Müller

Policies and ethics