All Things Shining, Sean Dorrance Kelly
All Things Shining, Sean Dorrance Kelly
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All Things Shining
Reading the Western Canon to Find Meaning in a Secular World

Author: Sean Dorrance Kelly, Hubert Dreyfus

Narrator: David Drummond

Unabridged: 8 hr 35 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/12/2011


Synopsis

The religious turn to their faith to find meaning. But what about the many people who lead secular lives and are also hungry for meaning? What guides, what approaches are available to them?

Distinguished philosophers, Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly explain that a secular life charged with meaning is indeed within reach. It is achieved by a passionate, skillful engagement with the people, events, and wonders present in the most ordinary days—an approach to meaning that modern Western culture seems to have abandoned.

Dreyfus and Kelly use some of the greatest works of the Western Canon to trace the way we lost this passionate engagement to our surroundings and to show us how to get it back. Taking us on a journey from the wonder and openness of Homer’s polytheistic world, to the monotheism of Dante, to the nihilism of Kant, to the pantheism of Melville, and finally to the spiritual difficulties of the world evoked by modern authors such as David Foster Wallace and Elizabeth Gilbert, All Things Shining will change the way we understand our culture, our history, our sacred practices, and ourselves, and offer a new—and very old—way to celebrate a secular existence.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Marcus

This is the first book I’ve read as a direct result of reading Cal Newport’s excellent book Deep Work. The problem All Things Shining addresses is that the more choice of thought and actions we have, the more we are prone to nihilistic tendencies. This is counter-intuitive but in many ways, it's tru......more

Goodreads review by Edward

The highest praise that I can give this book is that it makes me want to reread the classics, particularly Homer's ILIAD and ODYSSEY and MOBY DICK, the latter of which the authors regard as crucial in understanding what 21st century western humanity believes in, or doesn't. As well, it makes me want......more

Goodreads review by David

One possible summary: don't look for a unifying intelligence or purpose to life, the universe, and everything. Instead, develop an attentiveness, intelligence, and craft that aligns with what you care about, and be receptive to the emergence of opportunities to apply these things. This worldview cor......more

Goodreads review by Gary

The message of the book is to advocate for a return of our feelings of gratitude and awe in this disenchanted world and insist that nihilism is misplaced while advocating openness to the moods that surround us and trust our feelings towards the divine. The authors know the problem with ‘whooshing up......more