Un instante eterno

The renowned philosopher Pascal Bruckner raises in this lucid essay how advances in science have made time a paradoxical ally for human beings; Since the middle of the 20th century, life expectancy has increased from twenty to thirty years, equivalent to a lifetime in the seventeenth century. It is when we reach fifty years of age that we experience a kind of suspension between maturity and old age, an interval in which the brevity of life really begins as we ask ourselves the great questions of our human condition: do we want to live long or intensely, start over or reinvent ourselves? How to avoid the fatigue of being, the melancholy of twilight, how to overcome great joys and great pains? What is the force that keeps us afloat against bitterness or satiety? In this ambitious and essential work, Bruckner bases his reflections on statistics and on various sources in literature, the arts and history; Thus, he proposes a philosophy of longevity founded on resolution, and never resignation, to live this extra life in the best possible way.