The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World

The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World
by David Abram

The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World
List Price: $14.95
Our Price: $7.99
You Save: $6.96 (47%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $5.00 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


(Click here)
Buy this book at online book store in your country
Canada | UK | Germany | France

Book Summary Information

Author: David Abram
Edition: Paperback
Published: 1997-02-25
ISBN: 0679776397
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Vintage

Book Reviews of The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World

Book Review: Something to consider
Summary: 4 Stars

An interesting discussion regarding the egocentric modern world. Abram makes reference to a myriad of unconsciously driven facets of human existence, now either ignored or forgotten. Although he limits his argument to the issue of language, his overall thesis is certainly something to consider and apply.

Summary of The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World

David Abram's writing casts a spell of its own as he weaves the reader through a meticulously researched work that gently addresses such seemingly daunting topics as where the past and future exist, the relationship between space and time, and how the written word serves to sever humans from their primordial source of sustenance: the earth.

"Only as the written text began to speak would the voices of the forest, and of the river, begin to fade. And only then would language loosen its ancient associations with the invisible breath, the spirit sever itself from the wind, the psyche dissociate itself from the environing air," writes Abram of the separation caused by the proliferation of the written word.

In writing The Spell of the Sensuous, Abram consulted an engaging collection of peoples and works. He uses aboriginal song lines, stories from the Koyukon people of northwestern Alaska, the philosophy of phenomenology, and the speeches of Socrates to paint a poetic landscape that explains how we became separated from the earth in the first place. With minimal environmental doomsaying, Abram discusses how we can begin to recover a sustainable relationship with the earth and the nonhuman beings who live among us--in the more-than-human world. --Kathryn True


David Abram draws on sources as diverse as the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty, Balinese shamanism, Apache storytelling, and his own experience as an accomplished sleight-of-hand magician to reveal the subtle dependence of human cognition on the natural environment. He explores the character of perception and excavates the sensual foundations of language, which--even at its most abstract--echoes the calls and cries of the earth. On every page of this lyrical work, Abram weaves his arguments with passion and intellectual daring.

"Long awaited, revolutionary...This book ponders the violent disconnection of the body from the natural world and what this means about how we live and die in it."--Los Angeles Times

Consciousness & Thought Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Shamanism from the the Perspective of the Shaman
Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa: Zulu High Sanusi: Zulu High Sanusi (Profiles in Healing series) ImageVusamazulu Credo Mutwa: Zulu High Sanusi: Zulu High Sanusi (Profiles in Healing series)
Leete'S Island Books; Published: 2002-04-01; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops: $39.95
Zulu Shaman: Dreams, Prophecies, and Mysteries (Mutwa, Credo Vusa'mazulu,) ImageZulu Shaman: Dreams, Prophecies, and Mysteries (Mutwa, Credo Vusa'mazulu,)
by Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa
Destiny Books; Published: 2003-10-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.95
Price in other shops: $16.95
Artscanada December 1973/January 1974 Issue Numers 184, 185, 186, 187 Thirtieth Anniversary Issue Stones, Bones & Skin Ritual and Shamanic Art  .. Arts Canada ImageArtscanada December 1973/ January 1974 Issue Numers 184, 185, 186, 187 Thirtieth Anniversary Issue Stones, Bones & Skin Ritual and Shamanic Art .. Arts Canada
by Anne Trueblood Ed. Brodzky
Society For Art Publications,; Published: 1974; Paperback; Book
Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy (Bollingen Series (General)) ImageShamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy (Bollingen Series (General))
by Mircea Eliade
Princeton University Press; Published: 2004-01-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $15.00
Price in other shops: $27.95
The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World ImageThe Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World
by David Abram
Vintage; Published: 1997-02-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.99
Price in other shops: $14.95
Stone Age Wisdom: The Healing Principles of Shamanism ImageStone Age Wisdom: The Healing Principles of Shamanism
by Tom Crockett
Fair Winds Press; Published: 2003-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.50
Price in other shops: $15.95
Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self ImageSoul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self
by Sandra Ingerman
HarperOne; Published: 2006-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.00
Price in other shops: $15.95
Riding Windhorses: A Journey into the Heart of Mongolian Shamanism ImageRiding Windhorses: A Journey into the Heart of Mongolian Shamanism
by Sarangerel
Destiny Books; Published: 2000-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.05
Price in other shops: $14.95
Shamans, Healers, and Medicine Men ImageShamans, Healers, and Medicine Men
by Holger Kalweit
Shambhala; Published: 2000-11-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $24.95
American Shaman: An Odyssey of Global Healing Traditions ImageAmerican Shaman: An Odyssey of Global Healing Traditions
by Jeffrey A. Kottler, Jon Carlson
Routledge; Published: 2004-02-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.25
Price in other shops: $19.95
Similar Books and other products
A Language Older Than Words ImageA Language Older Than Words
by Derrick Jensen
Chelsea Green; Published: 2004-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.92
Price in other shops: $20.00
A Natural History of the Senses ImageA Natural History of the Senses
by Diane Ackerman
Vintage; Published: 1991-09-10; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.17
Price in other shops: $14.95
Phenomenology of Perception (Routledge Classics) ImagePhenomenology of Perception (Routledge Classics)
by Merleau-Ponty
Routledge; Published: 2002-05-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.98
Price in other shops: $23.95
The Dream of the Earth ImageThe Dream of the Earth
by Thomas Berry
Sierra Club Books; Published: 2006-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $40.61
The Voice of the Earth: An Exploration of Ecopsychology ImageThe Voice of the Earth: An Exploration of Ecopsychology
by Theodore Roszak
Phanes Press; Published: 2001-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.45
Price in other shops: $19.95
Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World ImageComing Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World
by Joanna R. Macy, Molly Young Brown
New Society Publishers; Published: 1998-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.35
Price in other shops: $18.95
Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind ImageEcopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind
Sierra Club Books; Published: 1995-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops: $16.95
Nature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World ImageNature and the Human Soul: Cultivating Wholeness and Community in a Fragmented World
by Bill Plotkin
New World Library; Published: 2007-12-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.55
Price in other shops: $17.95
The Earth Has a Soul: The Nature Writings of C.G. Jung ImageThe Earth Has a Soul: The Nature Writings of C.G. Jung
North Atlantic Books; Published: 2002-05-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.41
Price in other shops: $18.95
Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche ImageSoulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche
by Bill Plotkin, Thomas Berry
New World Library; Published: 2003-08-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.56
Price in other shops: $16.95
Book store. Illustrated catalog of books on different categories