Second Thoughts: Science, the Arts and the Spirit, with a French-Canadian Epilogue

“Dr. Wilder Penfield, the versatile Canadian scientist, surgeon, and writer of historical novels, has given us his second book of essays, a sequel to the popular Second Career. From the first chapter, “Science, the Arts, and the Spirit.” the author takes a look at life with humour and rare understanding. The relationship of science to religion is discussed as only a humanist, who has faith in God and a knowledge of science, can discuss it. As a man deeply concerned with the role of the family as the basic unit and tool of civilization, Dr. Penfield takes an optimistic view of the family and human behaviour. A convinced supporter of bilingualism, Wilder Penfield says he is at heart, “as much a French Canadian as he is an English Canadian.” He subscribes to separatism in the field of culture, but not otherwise. “The radicals in the Separatist movement, if followed, would lead us to catastrophe and civil war,” he says. He urges that bilingualism is essential to national unity. “More than that, the child who hears a second language very early has a great advantage in many aspects of education and life.” Parents and educators alike (not to mention those confirmed unilingual Canadians) would do well to read the chapters on the learning of languages. These essays range in subject-matter from popular philosophy to biography and education. Whether he is discussing student power in the university or the importance of the family physician, Dr. Penfield, like the distinguished men he celebrates in this book, believes in the fostering of knowledge and the importance of moral values.”-Publisher