What is time? St. Augustine knew: “I know what time is”, he said, “but if someone asks me, I cannot tell him” (Landes, 1983, p. 1). Not much help. It is the business of scientists to tell, and another ancient philosopher tells us how to tell: Aristotle sought to understand phenomena—and communicate that knowledge— by identifying their four "[be]causes", which he called material, final, efficient, and formal. We have interpreted these as questions about what (description/definition and substrate), why (function), how (mechanism), and like (analogs and models). These four causes organize our analysis of time and timing.
Book chapter
Time's causes
Time and behavior: Psychological and Neurobehavioural Analyses, pp.79-132
Advances in Psychology, 120, Elsevier
1997
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Abstract
Details
- Title
- Time's causes
- Creators
- Peter R Killeen - Arizona State UniversityJ Gregory Fetterman - Indiana UniversityLewis A Bizo - Southern Cross University
- Contributors
- Christopher M Bradshaw (Editor of compilation)Elmer Szabadi (Editor of compilation)
- Publication Details
- Time and behavior: Psychological and Neurobehavioural Analyses, pp.79-132
- Series
- Advances in Psychology; 120
- Publisher
- Elsevier; New York
- Identifiers
- 1233; 991012820703602368
- Academic Unit
- School of Health and Human Sciences
- Resource Type
- Book chapter