Time Devoured: A Materialistic Discussion of Duration

by Edmund Parsons

Originally published in 1964. This lively, challenging book, written with enthusiasm, conviction and clarity, sets out to elucidate the shadowy concept of Time. This involves central philosophical issues, which are vigorously discussed. Also relativity theory, in a clear-cut exposition, is made intelligible in a new light. All who are interested in science and its philosophical implications will find this book highly controversial but certainly readable.The author believes philosophy to be important, not only for its professionals, but for everyman. He believes that the fact that this is no longer realised shows that something is wrong with professional philosophy; he also indicates what this is. The book ends, surprisingly but pertinently, with a bold plunge into the questions of telepathy, precognition and psychical research generally. Whilst the phenomena are reasonably admitted, trenchant criticism of their significance confronts parapsychologists.

126 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 10, 2018

Reviews

[nico · Rating 4 out of 5]

weird, funny, charming. loved the philosophical discussion; the combination of his mastery over and disdain for the western canon is killer (the book is worth for his little parable of head-sacked philosophers alone) and his main argument (i.e. time is not the fourth—or any—dimension) is solid—but it's also a somewhat dislodged core with incongruous margins, which sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. i'm not sure some of his criticisms of modern physics hold up, and the closing discussion on parapsychology lost me a bit, tho it has its moments (learning the soviets researched it as "physiological cybernetics" ruled) and it is interesting to see someone openly tackle the question of "can materialism accept psychic phenomenons?"—a question that perhaps only him and like 2 other people ever asked, but anyway. i would love know more about the author (who was he? did he write anything else? what became of him?) but i like the mystery, and wouldn't mind to be left only with my silly theories on it. if i had to be super objective? 3-star book. but this is clearly a work of love and i loved reading it; i like that it exists.