The Alphabet Versus the Goddess
The Conflict Between Word and Image
Leonard Shlain(Author)
Penguin Books Ltd (Publisher)
Published on 27. April 2000
Book
Paperback/Softback
480 pages
978-0-14-028183-5 (ISBN)
Description
Could the invention of writing, and then the alphabet, have been largely responsible for a decisive shift towards patriarchy and misogyny? in this book, the author draws on brain anatomy and anthropology, religion and history, to develop his challenging thesis. Literacy, he argues, encourages "masculine" linear, reductionist and abstract modes of thought which tend to degrade women. (The witch-hunts of the Renaissance coincided with the rapid expansion of printing). Yet the last century has been the rise of visual communications media such as photography, film, television and the Internet. Regardless of their content, such innovations are reconfiguring our brains and producing a climate far more amenable to feminine values. it is only by acknowledging the downside of literacy that we can incorporate its benefits into a culture rooted in "the right-hemispheric values of tolerance, caring and respect for nature.
More details
Edition
New edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Edition type
New edition
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Illustrations
illustrations port.
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 34 mm
Weight
454 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-14-028183-5 (9780140281835)
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Schweitzer Classification