Abstract
THIS rather unusual book of reflections on life o1 not only gives us in effect an interesting portrait of one of our greatest authorities on the type of data which characterize the 'commonplace book', but also an unexpected plea for individual action in support of high ideals, whether of peace or of social reform. Lord Ponsonby has long been occupied with thought on the nature of time and on our appreciation of its meaning and value in the art of living. He now advances a general argument based on an analysis of the sense of duration, and relying on the scientific attitude of Huxley's generation, he tilts valiently at organized religion as he conceives it. The idea of personal immortality is challenged, and its rejection appears to be inspired largely by his contention that too much time is occupied in vain speculations about the future to the neglect of the present.
Life Here and Now:
Conclusions Derived from an Examination of the Sense of Duration. By Arthur Ponsonby. (Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede.) Pp. 289. (London: George Alien and Unwin, Ltd., 1936.) 10s. 6d. net.
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BRIGHTMAN, R. Life Here and Now. Nature 140, 341 (1937). https://doi.org/10.1038/140341a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/140341a0