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Origins of the Sacred: The Ecstasies of Love and War
Reinterprets the concept of humankind and mythology, tracing the origins of human identity through evolutionary biology and mythological literature and examining such issues as the evolution of violence in humans
493 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1991
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 15, 2016
One of the most inspiring books on anthropology. Actually, one of the most inspiring books I ever read. It's super densely packed with ideas, insights, intuitions. Sometimes the ideas in a chapter would follow me over the days, provoking new thoughts and theories. You don't have to agree with Dr. Young on everything, actually he makes quite easy to disagree with him, but even the statements that I would disagree with, are rich in ideas and research. A masterpiece.
p.s. the layout I had was really hard to read because of a very dense line hight, I hope there are editions with a little bit more relaxed text display. I would definitely recommend to get it as an e-book!
p.s. the layout I had was really hard to read because of a very dense line hight, I hope there are editions with a little bit more relaxed text display. I would definitely recommend to get it as an e-book!
November 6, 2011
Read this in my thirties -- greatly influenced my thinking and writing. Beautifully done. Worth every moment you spend with it.
August 3, 2012
this book makes the case for the need for a modern spirituality, one that both touches the mythic parts of the brain and is believable to a person who gives a shit about the truth. it also offers some pointers as to that project. an overlooked gem imo
December 23, 2021
Dudley Young rises to greatness with this single book, spreads out a magnificent landscape of a mythopoetic vision that connects us to our soul and a brighter future while tangentially digressing into pedantic etymology.
Four stars, because this book simply is too dense for what it wants to achieve, mainly because of his wish to mythologically unify our ancient primate past into our relatively recent history.
Sounds reasonable enough, you say? I dare say yes, but Young is a friggin dense scholar with a knack for pedantry.
Dudley uses science, myth, linguistics and antropology loosely, while making it seem graceful. He uses themes, myths and history wherever it suits his, admittedly beautiful, story. And I don't complain, but my scientific brother does. And it's actually really powerful and accurate a lot of the times, even if history and facts (science) don't agree. And that's the main point of the book: although science may completely disagree on his story, he guides us to the fact we lost touch with the Sacred, why it's so important that we reconnect and how it shapes us. This is mythical in proportions, and is meant to be read as a meditation, not as a scholarly book, which I absolutely love.
He makes sweeping connections between widely separated topics, mostly looking at mythology, classic literature, ancient history, energetic/psychological 'movements' (which is very Freudian), language, etymology and linguistics, as well as some perfunctory biology. This is what makes this books such a riveting read, but I cannot allow 5 stars, because at some points I was unable to follow his vision as a result of his too-dense (far-fetched and/or seemingly grasping in thin air) myth-making.
I have to add, for clarification and defense, that I am very familiar with Jungian psychology, and the dancing with the mythopoetic for sense-making, and even I(!) had difficulty following Young at some points. Let that be a warning for the layman.
The first 50 pages were confusing me as to what he was going to get at. Half of the book was stunning. But the last 70 pages, it dwindled into a quick run-down of Dionysis and Osiris, which was way too short.
Young climaxed with his meditations on the classic literary texts, with Gilgamesh and Homer, which I thought was brilliant! I'd love full books on these topics with a voice like Young's
Finally, he reached an all-encompassing conclusion to 'remember the dying tree-bull-snake-god' by which we live in the Sacred; which is at the same time a handle on War, who is reborn, and is the mystery.
Life and death. Violence. Sex. It's all in here, in a beautiful Freudian mix.
I wish there were more books like this. Please let me know if you know of any!
Recommended for adepts, mystics, students of Jungian psychology, and the general courageous, contemplative reader.
EDIT: Okay, 5 stars for the sheer effort, brilliance and size of his vision for the future in which myth and science can stand side by side.
Four stars, because this book simply is too dense for what it wants to achieve, mainly because of his wish to mythologically unify our ancient primate past into our relatively recent history.
Sounds reasonable enough, you say? I dare say yes, but Young is a friggin dense scholar with a knack for pedantry.
Dudley uses science, myth, linguistics and antropology loosely, while making it seem graceful. He uses themes, myths and history wherever it suits his, admittedly beautiful, story. And I don't complain, but my scientific brother does. And it's actually really powerful and accurate a lot of the times, even if history and facts (science) don't agree. And that's the main point of the book: although science may completely disagree on his story, he guides us to the fact we lost touch with the Sacred, why it's so important that we reconnect and how it shapes us. This is mythical in proportions, and is meant to be read as a meditation, not as a scholarly book, which I absolutely love.
He makes sweeping connections between widely separated topics, mostly looking at mythology, classic literature, ancient history, energetic/psychological 'movements' (which is very Freudian), language, etymology and linguistics, as well as some perfunctory biology. This is what makes this books such a riveting read, but I cannot allow 5 stars, because at some points I was unable to follow his vision as a result of his too-dense (far-fetched and/or seemingly grasping in thin air) myth-making.
I have to add, for clarification and defense, that I am very familiar with Jungian psychology, and the dancing with the mythopoetic for sense-making, and even I(!) had difficulty following Young at some points. Let that be a warning for the layman.
The first 50 pages were confusing me as to what he was going to get at. Half of the book was stunning. But the last 70 pages, it dwindled into a quick run-down of Dionysis and Osiris, which was way too short.
Young climaxed with his meditations on the classic literary texts, with Gilgamesh and Homer, which I thought was brilliant! I'd love full books on these topics with a voice like Young's
Finally, he reached an all-encompassing conclusion to 'remember the dying tree-bull-snake-god' by which we live in the Sacred; which is at the same time a handle on War, who is reborn, and is the mystery.
Life and death. Violence. Sex. It's all in here, in a beautiful Freudian mix.
I wish there were more books like this. Please let me know if you know of any!
Recommended for adepts, mystics, students of Jungian psychology, and the general courageous, contemplative reader.
EDIT: Okay, 5 stars for the sheer effort, brilliance and size of his vision for the future in which myth and science can stand side by side.
December 13, 2019
Professor Dudley Young isn't afraid to challenge accepted views. A great read.
April 13, 2021
Nicely flavoured chewing gum!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews