Time and Time Again Supplements to The Study of Time Edited by Paul Gifford School of Oriental and African Studies, London Deputy Editor Ingrid Lawrie The Mirfield Centre VOLUME 1 Time and Time Again Reports from a Boundary of the Universe By J. T. Fraser LEIDEN • BOSTON 2007 This book is printed on acid-free paper. On the Cover: Caspar David Friedrich, Wanderer Overlooking a Sea of Fog, (1818). It is reproduced by kind permission of the Hamburger Kunsthalle. Hamburger Kunsthalle / Stiftung offentlichen Rechts, Glockengiessenwall / 20095 Hamburg / Telefon ++49 (0) 40-428-131-200. E-mail
[email protected] / Internet www.hamburger-kunsthalle.de. FOTOBESTELLUNG: SEIT JULI 2002 NIMMT DAS BILDARCHIV PREUSSISCHER KULTURBESITZ EXCCKUSIV DIE VERWERTUNG VON NUTZUNGRECHTEN AN FOTOS DER HAMBURGER KUNSTHALLE WAHR. A Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. ISSN 1873-7463 ISBN 978-90-04-15485-8 © Copyright 2007 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands For Jane my wife and beloved companion CONTENTS Acknowledgements ...................................................................................... About the Cover ........................................................................................... The Whir and the Bell ................................................................................. ix xi xiii 1. The change ringing cosmos ................................................................ COMPLEXITY AND ITS MEASURE ....................................... 1 5 2. From timelessness to time ................................................................... OUT OF PLATO’S CAVE: THE NATURAL HISTORY OF TIME ............................................................................................... 13 15 3. Reality as examined appearances ...................................................... THE EXTENDED UMWELT PRINCIPLE: UEXKÜLL AND THE NATURE OF TIME ............................ 37 39 4. What kind of a universe to expect? .................................................. MATHEMATICS AND TIME ...................................................... 51 53 5. The beginning or origin of time ........................................................ THE SECULAR MYSTERY OF THE FIRST DAY ................ 65 67 6. Constraining chaos .............................................................................. FROM CHAOS TO CONFLICT ................................................ 81 83 7. Those metaphysical devices ................................................................ CLOCKWORKS BEYOND THEMSELVES ............................ 99 101 8. How to use a clock ............................................................................... SPACE-TIME IN THE STUDY OF TIME ............................... 11