Book
Absence of mind: The dispelling of inwardness from the modern myth of the self
Terry lectures, Yale University Press
2010
DOI: 10.12987/9780300166477
Abstract
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.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Absence of mind: The dispelling of inwardness from the modern myth of the self
- Creators
- Marilynne Robinson - University of Iowa, United States
- Resource Type
- Book
- Series
- Terry lectures
- DOI
- 10.12987/9780300166477
- ISBN
- 0300145187; 9780300145182
- eISBN
- 9780300166477; 0300166478
- Publisher
- Yale University Press; New Haven, Conn.
- Number of pages
- xviii, 158 pages
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 2010
- Academic Unit
- Writers’ Workshop
- Record Identifier
- 9985016023202771
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