The Soul of the Marionette

[Mark Kohut]

Of course, lifting GRAVITY'S RAINBOW above its
literal (if that word applies) anti-war story, one of
its deepest metaphysical themes is

free will vs. not.

On Mon, Oct 26, 2015 at 12:05 PM, Dave Monroe
<against.the.dave at gmail.com> wrote:
> THE SOUL OF THE MARIONETTE:
> A Short Inquiry into Human Freedom
> John Gray
> Farrar, Straus and Giroux
>
>
> Compared with that of humans, the life of the marionette looks more
> like an enviable state of freedom
>
> In his brilliantly enjoyable and freewheeling new book, John Gray
> draws together the religious, philosophic, and fantastical traditions
> that question the very idea of human freedom. We flatter ourselves
> about the nature of free will and yet the most enormous
> forces--logical, physical, metaphysical--constrain our every action.
> Many writers and intellectuals have always understood this, but
> instead of embracing our condition we battle against it, with everyone
> from world conquerors to modern scientists dreaming of a "human
> dominion" almost comically at odds with our true state.
>
> Filled with wonderful examples and drawing on the widest possible
> reading (from the Gnostics to Philip K. Dick), The Soul of the
> Marionette is a stimulating and engaging meditation on everything from
> cybernetics to the fairground marionettes of the title.
>
> http://us.macmillan.com/thesoulofthemarionette/john-gray
>
> The Soul of the Marionette by John Gray review – bleak, bracing and
> highly entertaining
>
> http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/25/the-soul-of-marionette-enquiry-human-freedom-john-gray-review
>
> Are We ‘Exceptionally Rapacious Primates’?
>
> http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2015/nov/05/are-we-exceptionally-rapacious-primates/
>
> The Gnostic Pynchon
>
> http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/product_info.php?products_id=20179
> -
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