Origins of the Sacred: The Ecstasies of Love and War - Hardcover

Young, Dudley

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312064322 ISBN 13: 9780312064327

Publisher: St Martins Pr, 1991

Synopsis

Reinterprets the concept of humankind and mythology, tracing the origins of human identity through evolutionary biology and mythological literature and examining such issues as the evolution of violence in humans

About this title

Synopsis:

Tracing the origins of mankind's identity through evolutionary biology and mythological literature, Dudley Young examines the primitive mind and the development of religion and sacredness as seen through our ancestors. Attempting to unearth the origins of violence and to answer the question "Are we born violent?", Young begins millions of years ago, with the transformation of the arboreal monkey into a chimpanzee. As man's brain grew and became more advanced, his most basic instincts - sex and violence - became unharnessed and unprogrammed at the same time that human civilisation emerged. The book concludes on a tragic theme, with the appearance of Homer and his literature, as well as man's futile attempt to recreate a complex civilisation of harmony.

About this edition

• Publisher: St Martins Pr
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0312064322
• ISBN 13: 9780312064327
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1