This book on the structure and role of time in physical theories
addresses itself to scientists and philosophers intereste: 'i in the 'no
man's lard' between science and philosophy, in particular between
physics and philoso- phy. The p: lint of departure is physical time, Le.
time as usErl 1: physicists in their theories; but the analysis is not
oonfined to a purely physical level but caries the problem into the
domain of philosophical in- quiry. Altoough the book presupp: lses some
knowledge of physics, I have avoided, wherever p: lssible, the use of
advanced mathematics and technical details. Of all the people woo have
been of help in writing this book, I w: >uld first of all like to
mention Paul Scheurer and Guy Debrock who were my primary mentors in
science and philosophy. This sttrly is a revision of my dissertation
[Kroes 1982a] which I wrote under the stimulating guidance of
Scheurer; many of the ideas ex- posed here have their origin in his w:
>rk and were developErl in frequent discussions with him. Guy Debrock
not only stimulated my interest in philosophy but also made valuable
suggestions. Witoout any overstatement, I dare say that without their
assistence, this book w: >uld never have been written. Furthernore, I
w: >uld like to thank D. Dieks, J.J.C.