The Alphabet Versus the Goddess

[David Morris]

I've just been made aware of _The Alphabet Versus The Goddess_ by Leonard 
Shlain.  This book is very interesting in relation to both *V.* and *GR* in 
many many ways (and *maybe* speaks to the positive role of psychedeics which 
just *might* be a part of GR's prescription for retrieving some of the 
Goddess mind-set (mindless pleasures)):

http://www.alphabetvsgoddess.com/

In this groundbreaking book, Leonard Shlain, author of the bestselling Art & 
Physics, proposes that the process of learning alphabetic literacy rewired 
the human brain, with profound consequences for culture. Making remarkable 
connections across a wide range of subjects including brain function, 
anthropology, history, and religion, Shlain argues that literacy reinforced 
the brain¼s linear, abstract, predominantly masculine left hemisphere at the 
expense of the holistic, iconic feminine right one. This shift upset the 
balance between men and women initiating the disappearance of goddesses, the 
abhorrence of images, and, in literacy¼s early stages, the decline of 
women¼s political status. Patriarchy and misogyny followed.

Shlain contrasts the feminine right-brained oral teachings of Socrates, 
Buddha, and Jesus with the masculine creeds that evolved when their spoken 
words were committed to writing. The first book written in an alphabet was 
the Old Testament and its most important passage was the Ten Commandments. 
The first two reject of any goddess influence and ban any form of 
representative art.

The love of Mary, Chivalry, and courtly love arose during the illiterate 
Dark Ages and plummeted after the invention of the printing press in the 
Renaissance. The Protestant attack on holy images and Mary followed, as did 
ferocious religious wars and neurotic witch-hunts. The benefits of literacy 
are obvious; this gripping narrative explores its dark side, tallying 
previously unrecognized costs.





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