About this title: This work of ecological philosophy is the first book from David Abram, who holds a doctorate in philosophy from SUNY at Stony Brook and has been the recipient of fellowships from the Watson and Rockefeller foundations. Abram inquires into the fluid and participatory nature of perception and finds profound interdependence between language and the animate natural world at large. Borrowing from Edmund Husserl's "Lebenswelt" and Merleau-Ponty's theories regarding the participatory nature of the body's faculties of perception, Abram defines a universe in which our most cherished human attributes ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Not Specified
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780679776390ISBN:0679776397
Description: Vg. 0679776397 In this book the author tries to reveal the subtle dependence of human cognition on the natural environment. 1997 326pp. read more
Description: Fair. 067943819X Textbook Student edition. CD NOT INCLUDED. Light dirt, wear, fading, or curling of cover or spine. Front cover is absent. Good binding. NO apparent loose pages. NO apparent missing pages. No apparent writing or highlighting. jm. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Vintage Books USA
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780679776390ISBN:0679776397
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. no markings. Edges slightly worn and corners bent. FAST shipping w/ priority mail. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 352 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: 5th Printing
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Pantheon, New York
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780679438199ISBN:067943819X
Description: Fair in Good jacket. 067943819X There is highlighting and notes throughout the beginning of the text. The covers of the book and the dust jacket have a little shelf wear. This is a work of ecological philosophy. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Random House Inc
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780679776390ISBN:0679776397
Description: Very Good. Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World. 326 pp. Remainder dot. Light edgewear, with a slight curl to the lower corner. Interior clean & unmarked, no tears or creases. Gently used. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Pantheon Books
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780679438199ISBN:067943819X
Description: New. No dust jacket as issued. Fine tight binding and crisp unmarked pages-gift quality! Not remaindered! Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Vintage Books, New York, New York, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780679776390ISBN:0679776397
Description: Good. Cover has bumping, chipping, marks, residue-edgewear-marks on edge-bumping pgs-mark son pg s-dog-eared-water damage-cocked. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 1997
ISBN-13:9780679776390ISBN:0679776397
Description: Good. Signed by author on title page. Cover and first few pages tearing away from upper spine. Corners a little worn. Some page corners folded down. Text is clean. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Pantheon
Date Published: 1996-01-16
ISBN-13:9780679438199ISBN:067943819X
Description: New. Same day shipping. Quick response Customer Service. Tracking # on All Domestic Shipments. I ship twice a day during the week and once on Saturday. Your business is personal with me. Thanks. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Vintage
Date Published: 1997-02-25
ISBN-13:9780679776390ISBN:0679776397
Description: Very Good. 1997 paperback, no marks noted in text, pages tanned, All of our products are cleaned with an disinfectant for your protection before shipping. read more
"Abram starts out strong by providing a fresh perspective about the separation of humans from nature. Anchoring his work first in Husserl's phenomenology and then Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of Perception, Abram says that we think more about the world than experience it. He writes that we are first and foremost physical bodies that complete themselves only through active relationships with nature. There is, in other words, a visceral circuit of energy with the world and it is this that gives us meaning and a sense of engagement and fulfillment. So far, so good. But then in a somewhat complicated argument, Abram goes on to argue that humans increasingly abstracted themselves from nature through language, transforming nature into something that was external because we were no longer integrated with it. To put it bluntly, the alphabet removed us, deterministically, from nature. Along with this linguistic argument, Abram references magical and native cultural practices to illustrate how indigenous peoples, not us, remain true to nature. Abram denies that his thesis involves a "going back" and acknowledges that other factors are relevant as well. Despite his denial, the book nevertheless has the feel of a "return to nature" as his thesis is that we become impoverished when nature becomes "less." This is a point of debate. His book idealizes indigenous man and suggests that all of the modern conveniences of life (health, leisure, etc) somehow are not (or "should not be"?) desired by indigenous cultures. From the outside looking in, that may be easy to say. These conveniences also may be the very reason developed societies are removed from nature. Simply put, these societies unlike native societies are no longer so dependent on nature for survival and well-being. This, not language, may provide the stronger argument about why our direct engagement with nature has become less relevant. Whether our move from the world of magic to science is good or bad remains, however, a fair debate and Abram offers some provacative and helpful insights."
"Definitely one of my favorit books i have ever read. This book opened my mind for nature. Im living and was growing up in a city with much noise, turmoil and hecticness. In this enviroment it is easy to loose the awareness of nature and that you take everything for granted what surrounds you. David Abram points out how the humans continuing to move away from the nature and how on this way the alienation increases. Unfortunately there is no german translation of this book yet, but who can understand a bit of english should read the book."
"A clear articulation of the cure for our separation from the Other. The sheer magic of a formal realization that we live in a world inhabited by the most alien of creatures with their own perceptions and cognitions, leaves one spellbound by the majesty and mystery of previously unnoticed residents. The life of a lowly spider now seems far more enchanting and esoteric than I ever imagined. Yet, the wonder is not from any kind of hidden realm to be found in the imagination, but rather right before our eyes and all around us.
"Wow! This is a worthwhile book which establishes a stable foundation for eco;ogy based on our connection to the earth. Using such diverse thbinking as Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, our alphabet, and Apache, Navajo, and aboriginal thought to show we must reconnect to the land. "Any undue harm that befalls the land is readily felt within the awareness of all who dwell within that land. And thus the health, balance, and well-being of each person is inseparable from the health and well-being of the enveloping earthly terrain." The Spell of the Sensuous By David Abram"
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