Absence of Mind

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.

ISBN 0300145187   Pages 160 ISBN13 9780300145182 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 281 Publisher Yale University Press   Published in New Haven Imprint Yale University Press   Series title Terry Lectures Format Hardback   Height (mm) 210 Publication date 01 Jun 2010   Width (mm) 140 DEWEY 201.65   Spine width (mm) 19 DEWEY edition DC22   Academic level General

"'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"

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