The author of "Art & Physics" now offers "a fascinating account of the evolution of our male and female ways of knowing" (Clarissa Pinkola Estes, author of" Women Who Run with the Wolves"). 35 illustrations.
The author of "Art & Physics" now offers "a fascinating account of the evolution of our male and female ways of knowing" (Clarissa Pinkola Estes, author of" Women Who Run with the Wolves"). 35 illustrations.
This groundbreaking book proposes that the rise of alphabetic literacy reconfigured the human brain and brought about profound changes in history, religion, and gender relations. Making remarkable connections across brain function, myth, and anthropology, Dr. Shlain shows why pre-literate cultures were principally informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess, images, and feminine values. Writing drove cultures toward linear left-brain thinking and this shift upset the balance between men and women, initiating the decline of the feminine and ushering in patriarchal rule. Examining the cultures of the Israelites, Greeks, Christians, and Muslims, Shlain reinterprets ancient myths and parables in light of his theory. Provocative and inspiring, this book is a paradigm-shattering work that will transform your view of history and the mind.
Leonard Shlain is Chairman of Laparoscopic Surgery at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and is Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. He is the author of "The Alphabet Versus the Goddess: The Conflict Between Word and Image" and "Sex, Time, and Power: How Women's Sexuality Shaped Human Evolution." Dr. Shlain lectures internationally and has been featured on "The Newshour with Jim Lehrer" and NPR. He lives in Mill Valley, California.
This groundbreaking book proposes that the rise of alphabetic literacy-the process of reading and writing-fundamentally reconfigured the human brain, and brought about profound changes in history, religion, and gender relations. Making remarkable connections across brain function, myth, and anthropology, Leonard Shlain shows why agricultural preliterate cultures were principally informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess and feminine values and images. Writing, particularly alphabets, drove cultures toward linear left-brain thinking. This shift upset the balance between men and women, initiating the decline of the feminine, and also ushered in the reign of patriarchy and misogyny. Examining the cultures of the Israelites, Greeks, Christians, and Muslims, he reinterprets many myths and parables in light of his theory. Shlain traces the effect of literacy on the Dark Ages, Mary, Gutenberg, the Reformation, and the witch hunts. Shlain ends his book with an optimistic appraisal that the proliferation of images in film, TV, graphics, and computers is once again reconfiguring the brain by encouraging right hemispheric modes of thought and bringing about the reemergence of the feminine. A provocative and inspiring read, this book is filled with startling historical anecdotes and fresh, compelling ideas. It is a paradigm-shattering work that will transform your view of history and the mind.
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