The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World

Abram, David;Pantheon Books

ISBN 10: 067943819X / ISBN 13: 9780679438199

Edité par New York, New York, U.S.A.: Pantheon Books, 1996

A propos de cet article

Soft cover, 326 pages. Very good condition, no damage to pages or cover. Binding is square and tight. No writing or markings of any kind. Cover has a slight bend on the back. Book shows signs of being packed.

N° de réf. du vendeur NA-1819

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World
• Éditeur: New York, New York, U.S.A.: Pantheon Books
• Date de parution: 1996
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 067943819X
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9780679438199
• Reliure: Soft cover
• Édition: 1st Edition
• État de l'article: Very Good
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • American Indian Collection

A propos de ce titre

Synopsis

A poetic introduction to ecological philosophy draws on the intimate relationship that exists between indigenous traditional "sorcerers" and the animate nature that surrounds them to reflect on new forms of perception that radically transform our experience of the natural world.

Présentation de l'éditeur

Winner of the International Lannan Literary Award for Nonfiction

Animal tracks, word magic, the speech of stones, the power of letters, and the taste of the wind all figure prominently in this intellectual tour de force that returns us to our senses and to the sensuous terrain that sustains us. This major work of ecological philosophy startles the senses out of habitual ways of perception.

For a thousand generations, human beings viewed themselves as part of the wider community of nature, and they carried on active relationships not only with other people with other animals, plants, and natural objects (including mountains, rivers, winds, and weather patters) that we have only lately come to think of as "inanimate." How, then, did humans come to sever their ancient reciprocity with the natural world? What will it take for us to recover a sustaining relation with the breathing earth? 

In The Spell of the Sensuous David Abram draws on sources as diverse as the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty, Balinese shamanism, Apache storytelling, and his own experience as an accomplished sleight-of-hand of magician to reveal the subtle dependence of human cognition on the natural environment. He explores the character of perception and excavates teh sensual foundations of laungage, which--even at its most abstract--echoes the calls and cries of the earth. On every page of this lyrical work, Abram weaves his arguments with a passion, a precision, and an intellectual daring that recall such writers as Loren Eisleley, Annie Dillard, and Barry Lopez.