To say that
things happen in time means in part that they happen in a certain order.
To say that things are located in space implies that they have a certain
position vis-à-vis each other.
The following
statements all refer to temporal and spatial relations:
( (1) The
abdication occurred between the two world wars.
(2) The
Napoleonic wars were followed by a period of relative calm.
( (3) Belgium is east of England and north of France.
(4) The table
stands between the chair and the window.
With respect
to time, some of the basic relations are simultaneous, before, and between.
Whether this list is essentially complete, or perhaps redundant in some
respects, are questions that we shall not try to answer at this point.
(The answers may seem obvious to the reader now, but that impression may change
as we follow the history of the problem.) At least, a theory of time must
give an account of these relations and thus explicate such common assertions as
(1) and (2).
With respect to space, it is not easy to make even a plausible
preliminary list of basic relations. It is hard to believe that such
relations as north of and east of – though they are clearly spatial relations – can be in any way basic
to the subject. For these relations concern entities on the earth
primarily; we may say that Polaris is north of any point on earth, because a
sighting of Polaris indicates the northerly direction. But this seems
already to some extent an analogical extension of the term “north,” and it
would certainly not make obvious sense to ask whether Polaris is north of the
sun or the star Alpha Centauri. Moreover, is Asia Minor east or west of
North America? The relation between of example (4), however, is not subject to these restrictions and ambiguities. Thus, a theory of space must at least give an
account of the spatial betweenness relation.
Now, relations
give rise to order.
Text: Bas C. van Fraassen, An
Introduction to the Philosophy of Time and Space, New York, Random House, 1970, pp. 3-4.
Illustrations: (1) Sara Rubinow, They All Agreed Something Was Missing, 2010; (2) Dolphin pod
(unknown photographer); (3) Daniel Maclise, Lawn Before The Duke’s Palace, Orlando About to
Engage with Charles the Wrestler (scene from As You Like It), oil on canvas,
1854; (4) Framed passport photo of F. Scott Fitzgerald inscribed to his
Princeton roommate, J. Biggs, "Yours in ironic humor, F. Scott
Fitzgerald" and counter-inscribed "Recieved (sic) as given in gentle
humor, J. Biggs"; this photograph later served as frontispiece illustration for Fitzgerald's "This Side Of Paradise"; (5) Albrecht Dürer, St. Jerome In His Study, engraving, 1514.
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