The Soul's Code: In Search of Character and Calling - Softcover

Hillman, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0399180141 ISBN 13: 9780399180149

Publisher: Ballantine Books, 2017

Synopsis

"[An] acute and powerful vision . . . offers a renaissance of humane values."--Thomas Moore, author of Care of the Soul and The Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life

Plato called it "daimon," the Romans "genius," the Christians "guardian angel"; today we use such terms as "heart," "spirit," and "soul." While philosophers and psychologists from Plato to Jung have studied and debated the fundamental essence of our individuality, our modern culture refuses to accept that a unique soul guides each of us from birth, shaping the course of our lives. In this extraordinary bestseller, James Hillman presents a brilliant vision of our selves, and an exciting approach to the mystery at the center of every life that asks, "What is it, in my heart, that I must do, be, and have? And why?"

Drawing on the biographies of figures such as Ella Fitzgerald and Mohandas K. Gandhi, Hillman argues that character is fate, that there is more to each individual than can be explained by genetics and environment. The result is a reasoned and powerful road map to understanding our true nature and discovering an eye-opening array of choices--from the way we raise our children to our career paths to our social and personal commitments to achieving excellence in our time.

Praise for The Soul's Code

"Champions a glorious sort of rugged individualism that, with the help of an inner daimon (or guardian angel), can triumph against all odds."--The Washington Post Book World

"[A] brilliant, absorbing work . . . Hillman dares us to believe that we are each meant to be here, that we are needed by the world around us."--Publishers Weekly

About this title

"Champions a glorious sort of rugged individualism that, with the help of an inner daimon (or guardian angel), can triumph against all odds."--The Washington Post Book World

"[A] brilliant, absorbing work . . . Hillman dares us to believe that we are each meant to be here, that we are needed by the world around us."--Publishers Weekly

From the Back Cover

Plato and the Greeks called it 'daimon', the Romans 'genius', the Christians 'Guardian Angel' - and today we use terms such as 'heart', 'spirit' and 'soul'. For James Hillman it is the central and guiding force of his utterly unique and compelling 'acorn theory' which proposes that each life is formed by a particular image, an image that is the essence of that life and calls it to a destiny, just as the mighty oak's destiny is written in the tiny acorn.

Highly accessible and imaginative, The Soul's Code offers a liberating vision of childhood troubles and an exciting approach to themes such as fate and fatalism, character and desire, family influence and freedom, and, most of all, calling - that invisible mystery at the centre of every life that voices the fundamental question, 'What is it, in my heart, that I must do, be, and have? And why?'

Edition details

• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0399180141
• ISBN 13: 9780399180149
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 352