Constructing Time from Space: Philosophy of Geologic Time

Alisa Bokulich (Boston University)

ABSTRACT: Traditionally, discussions of time in the philosophy of science literature have focused almost exclusively on time as it is understood and investigated in physics. My aim in this talk is to offer an introduction to the philosophy of geologic time. The term 'geologic time' is used to refer to time as it is conceptualized and operationalized in the geosciences. In this talk I will examine three prominent issues in the foundations of geologic time: the problem of simultaneity, the problem of clock synchronization, and space-time diagrams and the problem of missing time.