Time's Arrow, Time's Cycle: Myth and Metaphor in the Discovery of Geological Time.

Abstract

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Spatial metaphors of psychological time: The study of imprisoned men

“…In doing so, we usually refer to its fundamental features, which facilitate the discussion of time and enable the organization of its structure. Among the most prominent concepts, referring to the observed properties of time and its nature in our personal experiences, are the notions of linear and cyclic time (Gould, 1987;Mall, 1996;Overton, 1994). These concepts are based on philosophicalor phenomenologicaland psychological approaches, seeing time as a product of our mind, not necessarily a real, physical dimension (Evans, 2004).…”

“…As Mall (1996) highlights, it stems from inductive generalizations of repeated observations and implies the idea of no beginning and no end. Cyclicality also reflects a belief in the absence of time direction, immanence, and that certain states or events do not pass away but are constantly present and influence reality (Gould, 1987). Overton (1994), referring to the concept of machine metaphor, underlines that cyclic time is associated with a reversible change, and, in contrast to timeline/arrow, the directed pursuit of development is deceptive.…”

Time, evolution and physical reductionism

“…By contrast, cyclic time has no direction; fundamental states are imminent in time, always present and never changing. In cyclic time, apparent progress is part of ever repeating cycles, and differences of the past will be realities of the future [6]. Physical examples of cyclic time are the movement of subatomic particles and celestial dynamics that follow classical Newtonian mechanical laws.…”

“…Evolution also has cyclic components, but these do not break the directionality of the eTA; rather, they contribute to irreversibility. Examples of this duality are homologies and analogies in organisms [6]. Homologies arise from a common ancestor and represent eTAs.…”

“…This ‘sea lizard’ had dorsal and caudal fins analogous to those of fish—they evolved independently between these groups—while the ventral fins are homologous to, that is, modified from, the legs of its terrestrial ancestor. This combination of homologies and analogies in the same organism creates new life forms and therefore contributes to evolutionary unpredictability and irreversibility [6]. Another example of cyclic phenomena comes from molecular phylogenetics.…”