Many of Lessing's (Shikasta; The Good Terrorist, etc.) novels have
dealt with the particular confusions and complexities of modern
life. In these brief essays, originally lectures, she confronts the
greatest confusion of all - that with all the wondrous leaps of
scientific and psychological knowledge since the Enlightenment, we
still manage to blunder into the same paths of error as always. We
all just take ourselves too seriously, Lessing argues, from the
early rash of idealistic passion - "group lunacy" - to later years
when we frown on the upcoming generations of raving lunatics.
Lessing believes that we must infuse public life with some
laughter. "Laughter is a very powerful thing, and only the most
civilized, the liberated, the free person can laugh at herself,
himself." There is a law of society at work in this world, she
says: "It is this: the people at the top of a government, a
department, a ministry, or any institution of government or
administration never know what goes on at the lower levels."
Lessing gives examples of the individual giving in to the group (as
well-known as the famed Milgram "torture" experiment or as obscure
as her own experiment in submitting manuscripts to her longtime
publisher under a pen name, only to have them turned down). But at
times her argument is muddled, as when she argues that it is
bull-headed of the majority to so passionately resist an idea:
after all, "today's treason is tomorrow's orthodoxy." In the end,
she has nothing more to hang her hat on than the "individual" - who
has already reigned as a hero of sorts in the Western world for two
centuries. Lesser Lessing. (Kirkus Reviews)
The companion to a series of lectures given by Lessing, winner of
the Nobel Prize for Literature, in which she addresses some of the
most important questions facing us today. 'This is a time when it
is frightening to be alive, when it is hard to think of human
beings as rational creatures. Everywhere we look we see brutality,
stupidity, until it seems that there is nothing else to be seen but
that - a descent into barbarism, everywhere, which we are unable to
check. But I think that while it is true there is a general
worsening, it is precisely because things are so frightening we
become hypnotized, and do not notice - or if we notice, belittle -
equally strong forces on the other side, the forces, in short, of
reason, sanity and civilization ...' In this published version of a
series of perceptive and thought-provoking lectures, Lessing
stresses the importance of independent thought, of questioning
received opinion and fighting the lure of apathy. She argues that
only if we are free to interrogate authority and disagree that
despotism and ignorance can be defeated. We must examine 'ideas,
from whatever source they come, to see how they may usefully
contribute to our lives and to the societies we live in'.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
