As Mr. Campbell suggests in introducing these eleven papers (first presented at the Society for the Arts, Religion and Contemporary Culture), "The import of the whole" is significantly "greater than the sum of its parts." The import of this whole lies in the internal dynamic that operates in the integration of sympathetic yet independent perspectives; their direction is expressed by Richard Underwood in the summary of the last 'part' — "...contemporary philosophy...needs to see myth and dream as signs that point the way to the possibility of knowing who we really are." To this end the ideas of Jung and Wallace Stevens are frequently quoted: by Ira Progoff, for example, writing on "Waking Dream and Living Myth"; by Stanley Romaine Hopper on "Myth, Dream and Imagination"; in Joseph Campbell's own essay "Mythological Themes in Creative Literature and Art." This last functions as fulcrum and focus for the others, intentionally, since the collection is structured to mirror an intellectual progression to which Campbell's compact (re)statement of his theses is idiomatically central. The tone varies redeemingly from the relaxed, good-natured blasphemy of Allan Watts who projects a reconstructive program in "Western Mythology: Its Dissolution and Transformation," to the Ovidian epigram in Norman O. Brown's "Daphne or Metamorphosis"; from the theological orientations of John F. Priest and Amos N. Wilder to the erudite analysis of Orestes Myth rand Dream as Catharsis" by David L. Miller. The "Philosophical Double Vision" of Owen Barfield and psychological platform of Rollo May round out the interdisciplinary esoterics — an adventure in epistemology.
Pub Date: Feb. 26, 1969
ISBN: 156731340X
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 15, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1969
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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