Absence of Mind: The Dispelling of Inwardness from the Modern Myth of the Self (Terry Lectures) (The Terry Lectures) - Hardcover

Marilynne Robinson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300145187 ISBN 13: 9780300145182

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2010

Synopsis

In this ambitious book, acclaimed writer Marilynne Robinson applies her astute intellect to some of the most vexing topics in the history of human thought - science, religion, and consciousness. Crafted with the same care and insight as her award-winning novels, 'Absence of Mind' challenges postmodern atheists who crusade against religion under the banner of science. In Robinson's view, scientific reasoning does not denote a sense of logical infallibility, as thinkers like Richard Dawkins might suggest. Instead, in its purest form, science represents a search for answers. It engages the problem of knowledge, an aspect of the mystery of consciousness, rather than providing a simple and final model of reality. By defending the importance of individual reflection, Robinson celebrates the power and variety of human consciousness in the tradition of William James. She explores the nature of subjectivity and considers the culture in which Sigmund Freud was situated and its influence on his model of self and civilization. Through keen interpretations of language, emotion, science, and poetry, 'Absence of Mind' restores human consciousness to its central place in the religion-science debate.

About this title

Review:

'At a moment in cultural history dominated by the shallow, the superficial, the quick fix, Marilynne Robinson is a miraculous anomaly: a writer who thoughtfully, carefully, and tenaciously explores some of the deepest questions confronting the human species.' --Merle Rubin, Los Angeles Times Book Review on 'Gilead'

About the Author:

Marilynne Robinson is the author of 'Gilead', winner of the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for fiction; 'Home', winner of the 2009 Orange Prize for Fiction; and 'Housekeeping', winner of the 1982 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award for first fiction. She is also the author of two books of nonfiction, 'Mother Country' and 'The Death of Adam'. She teaches at the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop and lives in Iowa City.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0300145187
• ISBN 13: 9780300145182
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 176