Abstract

Since Doob rules out philosophical puzzles as to the nature of time, its absolute or relative character, or its universality and direction, etc., this masterful work will be of only limited interest to philosophers, even those who specialize in problems of space and time. Patterning of Time is, however, a fascinating study from the perspective of a psychologist or anthropologist. Doob, whose overwhelming knowledge has been gained as much from the library as from laboratory and field research, ranges over a vast area, both in terms of literature surveyed and in terms of the variety of aspects of time perception studied. He spells out his principal thesis this way: "My principal thesis now emerges, it is hoped: we experience in the psychological present, even as we recollect the past and anticipate the future; and at any given moment, and sometimes over long periods, we renounce one of these activities as a result of one or both of the other two orientations. Temporal judgments which perforce occur in the psychological present are patterned by beliefs and attitudes which are recollected from the past and which affect future anticipations. We are always—or almost always—confronted with choices in time, and to choose we must renounce."