J. W. Dunne (1875–1949)

An Experiment with Time by JW Dunne is an entertaining read and, if one wants to understand his views, one that requires some attention. It is, however, quite accessible.

I find the book to be mostly one to read out of historical, both of science and of literature, interest. The arguments won't likely convince most readers today, though the trains of thought can be quite rewarding. It does inform a great deal of literary ideas about time and different planes of existence.

What makes it a quite fun read is to observe how he follows his ideas through to what are, if one accepts all of his premises, a logical (though vague) conclusion. Many readers, myself included, will likely find themselves going off on separate tangents at various points and pondering fantastic possibilities. I think that is part of the reason for this being such an influence on writers from early to mid 1900s.

Highly recommended both as a historical read and as a trip into thought experiments.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.… (meer)

Psychonaut J W Dunne explores the concept of serial time during dream experiments

Since all observation is the observation of the observer at infinity, all successive, automatic experience of the cerebral states situated along Time 1 is the thinking of that not always very clear minded individual
This was a very chewy book, the above quote is a typical sentence & if you can get your head round that one with a quick read through then the book is possibly for you. Dunne posits that everyone is able to dream of future occurrences as well as past occurrences and these are jumbled together in dreams. This was first published in 1927 but I read a 3rd edition with substantial additions. The first portion of the book deals with the dreams that prompted Dunne to pursue his experiment, the middle section is technical and philosophical and the last an account of the experiment and the dreams of those that took part. Dunne realized that he had discerned a hitherto overlooked peculiarity in the structure of Time. And he concluded that the standard model of Time—a series of events flowing into the future—was simply a mode of human perception. Past and future are nothing more than artefacts of the waking mind, beyond our daily experience existed a timeless Present and Time was an illusion. The experiment is simple, merely record your dreams and see what integrations (future events integrated into the dream) occur. Can you see into the future? The reader may repeat Dunne’s experiment and decide for himself.

Overall – Obscure and difficult read… (meer)

A most interesting book. A warning to all: This is not light reading. It requires work to read and reflect (I have an advance engineering degree and I had to read through much of it several times). Although recently published, the book is over 70 years old. The theory/conjecture is carefully explained with the use of diagrams that will need to be studied in order to get the most out understanding from the ideas being presented. The broader implications of the book's arguments (if I understand it correctly) is not only do our dreams sometimes peak into the future, but we are in a sense immortal and part of grad (meta) consciousness. I would love to see someone redo this work with more modern presentation methods and make it more accessible. I remember someone (not sure who) that stated we will understand the universe when understand consciousness. I believe it.… (meer)