Internal Time

Early birds and night owls are born, not made. Sleep patterns are the most obvious manifestation of the highly individualized biological clocks we inherit, but these clocks also regulate bodily functions from digestion to hormone levels to cognition. By understanding and respecting our internal time, we can live better.

The Phenomenology of Internal Time-Consciousness is a translation of Edmund Husserl’s Vorlesungen zur Phänomenologie des inneren Zeitbewußtseins. The first part of the book was originally presented as a lecture course at the University of Göttingen in the winter semester of 1904–1905, while the second part is based on additional supplementary lectures that he gave between 1905 and 1910. In these essays and lectures, Husserl explores the terrain of consciousness in light of its temporality. He identifies two categories of temporality—retention and protention—and outlines how temporality provides the form for perception, phantasy, imagination, memory, and recollection. He demonstrates a distinction between cosmic and phenomenological time and explores the relevance of phenomenological time for the constitution of temporal objects. The ideas Husserl developed here are explored further in his Ideas and were pursued until the end of his philosophical career.

An exploration of the terrain of consciousness in the light of its temporality from the father of phenomenology. The Phenomenology of Internal Time-Consciousness is a translation of Edmund Husserl’s Vorlesungen zur Phänomenologie des inneren Zeitbewußtseins. The first part of the book was originally presented as a lecture course at the University of Göttingen in the winter semester of 1904–1905, while the second part is based on additional supplementary lectures that he gave between 1905 and 1910. The pervading theme of these essays and lectures is the temporal constitution of a pure datum of sensation and the self-constitution of “phenomenological time” which underlies such a constitution. Husserl identifies two categories of temporality—retention and protention—and outlines how temporality provides the form for perception, phantasy, imagination, memory, and recollection. He demonstrates a distinction between cosmic and phenomenological time and explores the relevance of phenomenological time for the constitution of temporal objects. The ideas Husserl developed here are explored further in his Ideas and were pursued until the end of his philosophical career. “As an addition to the small body of Husserl’s writings now available in English (Ideas 1931; Meditations, 1960), this book is essential to even a small collection of source works on contemporary philosophy.” —Choice

Interest in the concept of time has a long history and has been a topic of study for a wide range of investigators. No change can take place without specification of time. While philosophers and physicists have been intrigued by the concept of subjective perception of time and its relationship to real time, natural scientists have been concerned mainly with investigating time as a factor in understanding the behaviour of animals from the migratory habits of birds to the periodical breeding cycles. The immense bulk of temporal perception studies, the variety of approaches, methods of measurement and even terminology has led to a difficulty in reaching a global interpretation of the results. This book aims to give an integrative approach of time sense and to focus the analysis on temporal factors in the processing of movement, trying to link temporal perception studies in the final common pathway, that is motion. To give some clues of human brain integrative processes at higher levels. And, finally, to clarify the neurophysiological substrate of these operations.

An enlightened approach to insomnia, depressed mood, fatigue, and other sleep-related problems of everyday life, harnessing the power of light therapy to reset the natural clock. Sleep problems and depressed mood often go hand in hand, forming a frustrating cycle. Michael Terman, Ph.D., has devoted his career to studying the brain functions that feed these disorders. In Reset Your Inner Clock, Terman and Ian McMahan, Ph.D., reveal the heart of his findings, a powerful program that recalibrates our internal clocks—our exquisitely designed, natural sensitivity to the timing and brightness of light exposure. These delicate mechanisms are often decimated by the modern demands of a 24/7 lifestyle. Beginning with a questionnaire that pinpoints the problem areas, Terman helps readers decipher when their natural internal night begins and ends. The treatment process can then start, incorporating the power of natural light and, when necessary, supplemental light therapy. His approach has brought relief to thousands of sleep sufferers, as well as those burdened by bipolar disorder, seasonal affective disorder, depression, sleep disorders due to around-the-clock work schedules, and other impediments to vibrant health. For the first time, his findings are now available for a general audience, sharing the essential elements of chronobiology in clear, authoritative, scientifically grounded chapters that are easy to apply to a variety of situations.

Feedback from users suggest this resource book is more comprehensive and more practical than many others in the market. One of its strengths is that it was written by trainees in internal medicine who understand the need for rapid access to accurate and concise clinical information, with a practical approach to clinical problem solving.

How do people perceive time? This book presents a wealth of contemporary and classical research, including some of the history and philosophy of time perception. Influential internal clock-based models of time perception receive an in-depth but non-technical introduction and discussion. The role of cognition and emotion in perceiving time is also explored, as well as questions derived from time experience in daily life, such as why time seems to pass more quickly in one situation rather than another. Classical and modern research on timing in children is reviewed, as well as work on time perception and time experience in older people. Leading recent models of animal timing are also discussed in a non-mathematical way.