Agency, Illusion, and Well-being

Agency, Illusion, and Well-being

Author: Jerome M. Segal

Publisher: Lexington Books

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 9780739129692

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Agency, Illusion, and Well-Being is a collection of essays drawn from Jerome M. Segal's earlier books, including essays from Agency and Alienation, Joseph's Bones, and Graceful Simplicity. Arranged thematically into a coherent new whole, this selection of essays highlights Jerome M. Segal's contribution to philosophical economics and moral psychology in a definitive edition. Book jacket.


Book Synopsis Agency, Illusion, and Well-being by : Jerome M. Segal

Download or read book Agency, Illusion, and Well-being written by Jerome M. Segal and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2009 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agency, Illusion, and Well-Being is a collection of essays drawn from Jerome M. Segal's earlier books, including essays from Agency and Alienation, Joseph's Bones, and Graceful Simplicity. Arranged thematically into a coherent new whole, this selection of essays highlights Jerome M. Segal's contribution to philosophical economics and moral psychology in a definitive edition. Book jacket.


The Sense of Agency

The Sense of Agency

Author: Patrick Haggard

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2015-08-27

Total Pages: 453

ISBN-13: 0190267291

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Agency has two meanings in psychology and neuroscience. It can refer to one's capacity to affect the world and act in line with one's goals and desires--this is the objective aspect of agency. But agency can also refer to the subjective experience of controlling one's actions, or how it feels to achieve one's goals or affect the world. This subjective aspect is known as the sense of agency, and it is an important part of what makes us human. Interest in the sense of agency has exploded since the early 2000s, largely because scientists have learned that it can be studied objectively through analyses of human judgment, behavior, and the brain. This book brings together some of the world's leading researchers to give structure to this nascent but rapidly growing field. The contributors address questions such as: What role does agency play in the sense of self? Is agency based on predicting outcomes of actions? And what are the links between agency and motivation? Recent work on the sense of agency has been markedly interdisciplinary. The chapters collected here combine ideas and methods from fields as diverse as engineering, psychology, neurology, neuroscience, and philosophy of mind, making the book a valuable resource for any student or researcher interested in action, volition, and exploring how mind and brain are organized.


Book Synopsis The Sense of Agency by : Patrick Haggard

Download or read book The Sense of Agency written by Patrick Haggard and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2015-08-27 with total page 453 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agency has two meanings in psychology and neuroscience. It can refer to one's capacity to affect the world and act in line with one's goals and desires--this is the objective aspect of agency. But agency can also refer to the subjective experience of controlling one's actions, or how it feels to achieve one's goals or affect the world. This subjective aspect is known as the sense of agency, and it is an important part of what makes us human. Interest in the sense of agency has exploded since the early 2000s, largely because scientists have learned that it can be studied objectively through analyses of human judgment, behavior, and the brain. This book brings together some of the world's leading researchers to give structure to this nascent but rapidly growing field. The contributors address questions such as: What role does agency play in the sense of self? Is agency based on predicting outcomes of actions? And what are the links between agency and motivation? Recent work on the sense of agency has been markedly interdisciplinary. The chapters collected here combine ideas and methods from fields as diverse as engineering, psychology, neurology, neuroscience, and philosophy of mind, making the book a valuable resource for any student or researcher interested in action, volition, and exploring how mind and brain are organized.


The Illusion of Conscious Will

The Illusion of Conscious Will

Author: Daniel M. Wegner

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2003-08-11

Total Pages: 725

ISBN-13: 0262290553

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A novel contribution to the age-old debate about free will versus determinism. Do we consciously cause our actions, or do they happen to us? Philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, theologians, and lawyers have long debated the existence of free will versus determinism. In this book Daniel Wegner offers a novel understanding of the issue. Like actions, he argues, the feeling of conscious will is created by the mind and brain. Yet if psychological and neural mechanisms are responsible for all human behavior, how could we have conscious will? The feeling of conscious will, Wegner shows, helps us to appreciate and remember our authorship of the things our minds and bodies do. Yes, we feel that we consciously will our actions, Wegner says, but at the same time, our actions happen to us. Although conscious will is an illusion, it serves as a guide to understanding ourselves and to developing a sense of responsibility and morality. Approaching conscious will as a topic of psychological study, Wegner examines the issue from a variety of angles. He looks at illusions of the will—those cases where people feel that they are willing an act that they are not doing or, conversely, are not willing an act that they in fact are doing. He explores conscious will in hypnosis, Ouija board spelling, automatic writing, and facilitated communication, as well as in such phenomena as spirit possession, dissociative identity disorder, and trance channeling. The result is a book that sidesteps endless debates to focus, more fruitfully, on the impact on our lives of the illusion of conscious will.


Book Synopsis The Illusion of Conscious Will by : Daniel M. Wegner

Download or read book The Illusion of Conscious Will written by Daniel M. Wegner and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2003-08-11 with total page 725 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A novel contribution to the age-old debate about free will versus determinism. Do we consciously cause our actions, or do they happen to us? Philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, theologians, and lawyers have long debated the existence of free will versus determinism. In this book Daniel Wegner offers a novel understanding of the issue. Like actions, he argues, the feeling of conscious will is created by the mind and brain. Yet if psychological and neural mechanisms are responsible for all human behavior, how could we have conscious will? The feeling of conscious will, Wegner shows, helps us to appreciate and remember our authorship of the things our minds and bodies do. Yes, we feel that we consciously will our actions, Wegner says, but at the same time, our actions happen to us. Although conscious will is an illusion, it serves as a guide to understanding ourselves and to developing a sense of responsibility and morality. Approaching conscious will as a topic of psychological study, Wegner examines the issue from a variety of angles. He looks at illusions of the will—those cases where people feel that they are willing an act that they are not doing or, conversely, are not willing an act that they in fact are doing. He explores conscious will in hypnosis, Ouija board spelling, automatic writing, and facilitated communication, as well as in such phenomena as spirit possession, dissociative identity disorder, and trance channeling. The result is a book that sidesteps endless debates to focus, more fruitfully, on the impact on our lives of the illusion of conscious will.


The Self Illusion

The Self Illusion

Author: Bruce Hood

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2012-06-15

Total Pages: 368

ISBN-13: 0199969892

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Most of us believe that we are unique and coherent individuals, but are we? The idea of a "self" has existed ever since humans began to live in groups and become sociable. Those who embrace the self as an individual in the West, or a member of the group in the East, feel fulfilled and purposeful. This experience seems incredibly real but a wealth of recent scientific evidence reveals that this notion of the independent, coherent self is an illusion - it is not what it seems. Reality as we perceive it is not something that objectively exists, but something that our brains construct from moment to moment, interpreting, summarizing, and substituting information along the way. Like a science fiction movie, we are living in a matrix that is our mind. In The Self Illusion, Dr. Bruce Hood reveals how the self emerges during childhood and how the architecture of the developing brain enables us to become social animals dependent on each other. He explains that self is the product of our relationships and interactions with others, and it exists only in our brains. The author argues, however, that though the self is an illusion, it is one that humans cannot live without. But things are changing as our technology develops and shapes society. The social bonds and relationships that used to take time and effort to form are now undergoing a revolution as we start to put our self online. Social networking activities such as blogging, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter threaten to change the way we behave. Social networking is fast becoming socialization on steroids. The speed and ease at which we can form alliances and relationships is outstripping the same selection processes that shaped our self prior to the internet era. This book ventures into unchartered territory to explain how the idea of the self will never be the same again in the online social world.


Book Synopsis The Self Illusion by : Bruce Hood

Download or read book The Self Illusion written by Bruce Hood and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-06-15 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most of us believe that we are unique and coherent individuals, but are we? The idea of a "self" has existed ever since humans began to live in groups and become sociable. Those who embrace the self as an individual in the West, or a member of the group in the East, feel fulfilled and purposeful. This experience seems incredibly real but a wealth of recent scientific evidence reveals that this notion of the independent, coherent self is an illusion - it is not what it seems. Reality as we perceive it is not something that objectively exists, but something that our brains construct from moment to moment, interpreting, summarizing, and substituting information along the way. Like a science fiction movie, we are living in a matrix that is our mind. In The Self Illusion, Dr. Bruce Hood reveals how the self emerges during childhood and how the architecture of the developing brain enables us to become social animals dependent on each other. He explains that self is the product of our relationships and interactions with others, and it exists only in our brains. The author argues, however, that though the self is an illusion, it is one that humans cannot live without. But things are changing as our technology develops and shapes society. The social bonds and relationships that used to take time and effort to form are now undergoing a revolution as we start to put our self online. Social networking activities such as blogging, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter threaten to change the way we behave. Social networking is fast becoming socialization on steroids. The speed and ease at which we can form alliances and relationships is outstripping the same selection processes that shaped our self prior to the internet era. This book ventures into unchartered territory to explain how the idea of the self will never be the same again in the online social world.


Positive Illusions

Positive Illusions

Author: Steven G. Carley

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: 2015-08-04

Total Pages: 36

ISBN-13: 9781515346036

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Understand the point of view of positive illusions not just from the point of view of the author Steven G Carley MS but also from that of Max Wertheimer, B. F. Skinner, William James, and even Charles Darwin. In understanding the contribution of human thought and behavior to personal well-being, the construction of the interdisciplinary field of health psychology is in existence. Self-perceptions are not 100% accurate and at times are unrealistically positive. This unrealistic positive illusion, accordingly refers as positive illusions (Taylor & Gollwitzer, 1995). The question arises of whether or not such illusions can be healthy. Depression leads to fewer positive illusions, suggesting an absence of positive illusions can be a predisposition to symptoms of depression. The result is positive mental health despite self-views as unrealistic. This belief challenges the conventional norms to mental health who argue, it is accurate self-perceptions leading to mental health. Unrealistic perceptions are more unhealthy more so than realistic ones. Evidence to support positive illusions improve mental well-being are scarce, a high perception of the self does not mean one's self-perception another may view as inaccurate. It may be difficult to argue the individual with positive illusions is more mentally healthy than those with realistic self-perceptions (Primis Online, 2008, p. 106).


Book Synopsis Positive Illusions by : Steven G. Carley

Download or read book Positive Illusions written by Steven G. Carley and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-08-04 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Understand the point of view of positive illusions not just from the point of view of the author Steven G Carley MS but also from that of Max Wertheimer, B. F. Skinner, William James, and even Charles Darwin. In understanding the contribution of human thought and behavior to personal well-being, the construction of the interdisciplinary field of health psychology is in existence. Self-perceptions are not 100% accurate and at times are unrealistically positive. This unrealistic positive illusion, accordingly refers as positive illusions (Taylor & Gollwitzer, 1995). The question arises of whether or not such illusions can be healthy. Depression leads to fewer positive illusions, suggesting an absence of positive illusions can be a predisposition to symptoms of depression. The result is positive mental health despite self-views as unrealistic. This belief challenges the conventional norms to mental health who argue, it is accurate self-perceptions leading to mental health. Unrealistic perceptions are more unhealthy more so than realistic ones. Evidence to support positive illusions improve mental well-being are scarce, a high perception of the self does not mean one's self-perception another may view as inaccurate. It may be difficult to argue the individual with positive illusions is more mentally healthy than those with realistic self-perceptions (Primis Online, 2008, p. 106).


Well-Being

Well-Being

Author: Neera K. Badhwar

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2014-06-02

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 0199717338

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This book offers a new argument for the ancient claim that well-being as the highest prudential good -- eudaimonia --consists of happiness in a virtuous life. The argument takes into account recent work on happiness, well-being, and virtue, and defends a neo-Aristotelian conception of virtue as an integrated intellectual-emotional disposition that is limited in both scope and stability. This conception of virtue is argued to be widely held and compatible with social and cognitive psychology. The main argument of the book is as follows: (i) the concept of well-being as the highest prudential good is internally coherent and widely held; (ii) well-being thus conceived requires an objectively worthwhile life; (iii) in turn, such a life requires autonomy and reality-orientation, i.e., a disposition to think for oneself, seek truth or understanding about important aspects of one's own life and human life in general, and act on this understanding when circumstances permit; (iv) to the extent that someone is successful in achieving understanding and acting on it, she is realistic, and to the extent that she is realistic, she is virtuous; (v) hence, well-being as the highest prudential good requires virtue. But complete virtue is impossible for both psychological and epistemic reasons, and this is one reason why complete well-being is impossible.


Book Synopsis Well-Being by : Neera K. Badhwar

Download or read book Well-Being written by Neera K. Badhwar and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014-06-02 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a new argument for the ancient claim that well-being as the highest prudential good -- eudaimonia --consists of happiness in a virtuous life. The argument takes into account recent work on happiness, well-being, and virtue, and defends a neo-Aristotelian conception of virtue as an integrated intellectual-emotional disposition that is limited in both scope and stability. This conception of virtue is argued to be widely held and compatible with social and cognitive psychology. The main argument of the book is as follows: (i) the concept of well-being as the highest prudential good is internally coherent and widely held; (ii) well-being thus conceived requires an objectively worthwhile life; (iii) in turn, such a life requires autonomy and reality-orientation, i.e., a disposition to think for oneself, seek truth or understanding about important aspects of one's own life and human life in general, and act on this understanding when circumstances permit; (iv) to the extent that someone is successful in achieving understanding and acting on it, she is realistic, and to the extent that she is realistic, she is virtuous; (v) hence, well-being as the highest prudential good requires virtue. But complete virtue is impossible for both psychological and epistemic reasons, and this is one reason why complete well-being is impossible.


Interoception, Contemplative Practice, and Health

Interoception, Contemplative Practice, and Health

Author: Norman Farb

Publisher: Frontiers Media SA

Published: 2017-02-07

Total Pages: 318

ISBN-13: 2889450945

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There is an emergent movement of scientists and scholars working on somatic awareness, interoception and embodiment. This work cuts across studies of neurophysiology, somatic anthropology, contemplative practice, and mind-body medicine. Key questions include: How is body awareness cultivated? What role does interoception play for emotion and cognition in healthy adults and children as well as in different psychopathologies? What are the neurophysiological effects of this cultivation in practices such as Yoga, mindfulness meditation, Tai Chi and other embodied contemplative practices? What categories from other traditions might be useful as we explore embodiment? Does the cultivation of body awareness within contemplative practice offer a tool for coping with suffering from conditions, such as pain, addiction, and dysregulated emotion? This emergent field of research into somatic awareness and associated interoceptive processes, however, faces many obstacles. The principle obstacle lies in our 400-year Cartesian tradition that views sensory perception as epiphenomenal to cognition. The segregation of perception and cognition has enabled a broad program of cognitive science research, but may have also prevented researchers from developing paradigms for understanding how interoceptive awareness of sensations from inside the body influences cognition. The cognitive representation of interoceptive signals may play an active role in facilitating therapeutic transformation, e.g. by altering context in which cognitive appraisals of well-being occur. This topic has ramifications into disparate research fields: What is the role of interoceptive awareness in conscious presence? How do we distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive somatic awareness? How do we best measure somatic awareness? What are the consequences of dysregulated somatic/interoceptive awareness on cognition, emotion, and behavior? The complexity of these questions calls for the creative integration of perspectives and findings from related but often disparate research areas including clinical research, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, anthropology, religious/contemplative studies and philosophy.


Book Synopsis Interoception, Contemplative Practice, and Health by : Norman Farb

Download or read book Interoception, Contemplative Practice, and Health written by Norman Farb and published by Frontiers Media SA. This book was released on 2017-02-07 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is an emergent movement of scientists and scholars working on somatic awareness, interoception and embodiment. This work cuts across studies of neurophysiology, somatic anthropology, contemplative practice, and mind-body medicine. Key questions include: How is body awareness cultivated? What role does interoception play for emotion and cognition in healthy adults and children as well as in different psychopathologies? What are the neurophysiological effects of this cultivation in practices such as Yoga, mindfulness meditation, Tai Chi and other embodied contemplative practices? What categories from other traditions might be useful as we explore embodiment? Does the cultivation of body awareness within contemplative practice offer a tool for coping with suffering from conditions, such as pain, addiction, and dysregulated emotion? This emergent field of research into somatic awareness and associated interoceptive processes, however, faces many obstacles. The principle obstacle lies in our 400-year Cartesian tradition that views sensory perception as epiphenomenal to cognition. The segregation of perception and cognition has enabled a broad program of cognitive science research, but may have also prevented researchers from developing paradigms for understanding how interoceptive awareness of sensations from inside the body influences cognition. The cognitive representation of interoceptive signals may play an active role in facilitating therapeutic transformation, e.g. by altering context in which cognitive appraisals of well-being occur. This topic has ramifications into disparate research fields: What is the role of interoceptive awareness in conscious presence? How do we distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive somatic awareness? How do we best measure somatic awareness? What are the consequences of dysregulated somatic/interoceptive awareness on cognition, emotion, and behavior? The complexity of these questions calls for the creative integration of perspectives and findings from related but often disparate research areas including clinical research, neuroscience, cognitive psychology, anthropology, religious/contemplative studies and philosophy.


Routledge International Handbook of Self-Control in Health and Well-Being

Routledge International Handbook of Self-Control in Health and Well-Being

Author: Denise de Ridder

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-10-30

Total Pages: 528

ISBN-13: 1317301412

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The ability to prioritise long-term goals above short-term gratifications is crucial to living a healthy and happy life. We are bombarded with temptations, whether from fast-food or faster technologies, but the psychological capacity to manage our lives within such a challenging environment has far-reaching implications for the well-being not only of the individual, but also society as a whole. The Routledge International Handbook of Self-Control in Health and Wellbeing is the first comprehensive handbook to map this burgeoning area of research by applying it to health outcomes and personal well-being. Including contributions from leading scholars worldwide, the book incorporates new research findings that suggest that simply inhibiting our immediate impulses isn’t the whole story; there may be more options to improve self-control than simply by suppressing the ego. Divided into six coherent sections, the book provides an overview of the research base before discussing a range of interventions to help improve self-control in different contexts, from smoking or drinking too much to developing self-control over aggression or spending money. The only definitive handbook on this far-reaching topic, this essential work will appeal to researchers and students across health and social psychology, as well as related health sciences.


Book Synopsis Routledge International Handbook of Self-Control in Health and Well-Being by : Denise de Ridder

Download or read book Routledge International Handbook of Self-Control in Health and Well-Being written by Denise de Ridder and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-30 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ability to prioritise long-term goals above short-term gratifications is crucial to living a healthy and happy life. We are bombarded with temptations, whether from fast-food or faster technologies, but the psychological capacity to manage our lives within such a challenging environment has far-reaching implications for the well-being not only of the individual, but also society as a whole. The Routledge International Handbook of Self-Control in Health and Wellbeing is the first comprehensive handbook to map this burgeoning area of research by applying it to health outcomes and personal well-being. Including contributions from leading scholars worldwide, the book incorporates new research findings that suggest that simply inhibiting our immediate impulses isn’t the whole story; there may be more options to improve self-control than simply by suppressing the ego. Divided into six coherent sections, the book provides an overview of the research base before discussing a range of interventions to help improve self-control in different contexts, from smoking or drinking too much to developing self-control over aggression or spending money. The only definitive handbook on this far-reaching topic, this essential work will appeal to researchers and students across health and social psychology, as well as related health sciences.


The Olive Branch from Palestine

The Olive Branch from Palestine

Author: Jerome M. Segal

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2022-05-31

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 0520381300

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Israeli settlements are proliferating in Palestinian territory, and if they are annexed, the possibility of a future Palestinian state is virtually impossible. Could it have been otherwise? Can it still be? These are the questions Jerome M. Segal poses in The Olive Branch from Palestine. Carefully argued and highly informative, this book is centered on an original strategy that Segal devised—a strategy adopted but only partially implemented by Palestinian leadership, leaving its feasibility untested. The first step of this strategy was the issuance in November 1988 of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence. That document, authored by Palestinian national poet Mahmoud Darwish and modeled on Israel's own Declaration, called for a Palestinian state that would live in peace with Israel. In The Olive Branch from Palestine, Segal provides in the first part an analytical and historical study of the 1988 Declaration, a remarkable act of unilateral peacemaking through which the PLO accepted the legitimacy of the 1947 Partition Resolution and thereby redefined Palestinian nationalism. In the second part, he proposes a new strategy based on solutions to the two core issues of 1948: the preservation of a Jewish state, and the rights and circumstances of Palestinian refugees. With The Olive Branch from Palestine, Jerome Segal offers a new narrative of the peace process and details a Palestinian-led strategy that could end the conflict.


Book Synopsis The Olive Branch from Palestine by : Jerome M. Segal

Download or read book The Olive Branch from Palestine written by Jerome M. Segal and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2022-05-31 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Israeli settlements are proliferating in Palestinian territory, and if they are annexed, the possibility of a future Palestinian state is virtually impossible. Could it have been otherwise? Can it still be? These are the questions Jerome M. Segal poses in The Olive Branch from Palestine. Carefully argued and highly informative, this book is centered on an original strategy that Segal devised—a strategy adopted but only partially implemented by Palestinian leadership, leaving its feasibility untested. The first step of this strategy was the issuance in November 1988 of the Palestinian Declaration of Independence. That document, authored by Palestinian national poet Mahmoud Darwish and modeled on Israel's own Declaration, called for a Palestinian state that would live in peace with Israel. In The Olive Branch from Palestine, Segal provides in the first part an analytical and historical study of the 1988 Declaration, a remarkable act of unilateral peacemaking through which the PLO accepted the legitimacy of the 1947 Partition Resolution and thereby redefined Palestinian nationalism. In the second part, he proposes a new strategy based on solutions to the two core issues of 1948: the preservation of a Jewish state, and the rights and circumstances of Palestinian refugees. With The Olive Branch from Palestine, Jerome Segal offers a new narrative of the peace process and details a Palestinian-led strategy that could end the conflict.


Empire of Illusion

Empire of Illusion

Author: Chris Hedges

Publisher: Knopf Canada

Published: 2009-07-28

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 0307398587

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Pulitzer prize–winner Chris Hedges charts the dramatic and disturbing rise of a post-literate society that craves fantasy, ecstasy and illusion. Chris Hedges argues that we now live in two societies: One, the minority, functions in a print-based, literate world, that can cope with complexity and can separate illusion from truth. The other, a growing majority, is retreating from a reality-based world into one of false certainty and magic. In this “other society,” serious film and theatre, as well as newspapers and books, are being pushed to the margins. In the tradition of Christopher Lasch’s The Culture of Narcissism and Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, Hedges navigates this culture — attending WWF contests as well as Ivy League graduation ceremonies — exposing an age of terrifying decline and heightened self-delusion.


Book Synopsis Empire of Illusion by : Chris Hedges

Download or read book Empire of Illusion written by Chris Hedges and published by Knopf Canada. This book was released on 2009-07-28 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pulitzer prize–winner Chris Hedges charts the dramatic and disturbing rise of a post-literate society that craves fantasy, ecstasy and illusion. Chris Hedges argues that we now live in two societies: One, the minority, functions in a print-based, literate world, that can cope with complexity and can separate illusion from truth. The other, a growing majority, is retreating from a reality-based world into one of false certainty and magic. In this “other society,” serious film and theatre, as well as newspapers and books, are being pushed to the margins. In the tradition of Christopher Lasch’s The Culture of Narcissism and Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death, Hedges navigates this culture — attending WWF contests as well as Ivy League graduation ceremonies — exposing an age of terrifying decline and heightened self-delusion.