The Ontology of Time in Geography
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https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15714946Keywords:
Geography, Time, Ontology, Chronological Time, Astronomical Time, Ecological Time, Perceptual Time, Geological TimeAbstract
This study begins with the observation that the concept of time is often overlooked in geography, which is predominantly read as a science of space. The ambiguity in the ontology of time in geography leads to its confinement within a linear dimension, while space becomes a tool for capitalist control through time. In early capitalism, time was an important tool for managing space. Modern ontology centers Newtonian views, treating time as an abstract and absolute entity, which undermines cyclical time concepts rooted in nature and shapes individuals’ and societies’ perception of time according to a single-dimensional epistemology. As a result, life that once integrated with natural cyclical flows has shifted into rigid structures, controlled by invisible linear constraints symbolized by wristwatches in the digital age. This study examines the ontological assumptions of time in geography through this lens. It criticizes the dominance of spatially independent, linear time in geographic ontology and its neglect of other time forms. The relationship between time and space is discussed, exploring how geography could be understood as a science of time. Finally, the study proposes that the geographic ontology of time should be based not on capitalism’s epistemology of abstraction, spatial independence, and absoluteness but on the unity of multidimensionality, spatial relationality, and relativity. Time is classified into five geographic dimensions: astronomical, ecological, perceptual, geological, and chronological. The foundation of time perception is argued to be shaped by critical theory and poststructural relational spatial approaches.
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