Skip to content

All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age Hardcover - 2011

by Hubert Dreyfus; Sean Dorrance Kelly


Summary

In unrelenting flow of choices confronts us at nearly every moment of our lives, and yet our culture offers us no clear way to choose. This predicament seems inevitable, but in fact its quite new. In medieval Europe, Gods calling was a grounding force. In ancient Greece, a whole pantheon of shining gods stood ready to draw an appropriate action out of you. Like an athlete in the zone, you were called to a harmonious attunement with the world, so absorbed in it that you couldnt make a wrong choice. If our culture no longer takes for granted a belief in God, can we nevertheless get in touch with the Homeric moods of wonder and gratitude, and be guided by the meanings they reveal? All Things Shining says we can.

Hubert Dreyfus and Sean Dorrance Kelly illuminate some of the greatest works of the West to reveal how we have lost our passionate engagement with and responsiveness to the world. Their journey takes us from the wonder and openness of Homers polytheism to the monotheism of Dante; from the autonomy of Kant to the multiple worlds of Melville; and, finally, to the spiritual difficulties evoked by modern authors such as David Foster Wallace and Elizabeth Gilbert.

Dreyfus, a philosopher at the University of California, Berkeley, for forty years, is an original thinker who finds in the classic texts of our culture a new relevance for peoples everyday lives. His lively, thought-provoking lectures have earned him a podcast audience that often reaches the iTunesU Top 40. Kelly, chair of the philosophy department at Harvard University, is an eloquent new voice whose sensitivity to the sadness of the cultureand to what remains of the wonder and gratitude that could chase it awaycaptures a generation adrift.

Re-envisioning modern spiritual life through their examination of literature, philosophy, and religious testimony, Dreyfus and Kelly unearth ancient sources of meaning, and teach us how to rediscover the sacred, shining things that surround us every day. This book will change the way we understand our culture, our history, our sacred practices, and ourselves. It offers a newand very oldway to celebrate and be grateful for our existence in the modern world.

Details

  • Title All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age
  • Author Hubert Dreyfus; Sean Dorrance Kelly
  • Binding Hardcover
  • Edition 1st ptg
  • Pages 254
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Free Press, Riverside, NJ, U.S.A.
  • Date 2011-01-04
  • ISBN 9781416596158 / 1416596151
  • Weight 0.8 lbs (0.36 kg)
  • Dimensions 8.6 x 5.89 x 1.05 in (21.84 x 14.96 x 2.67 cm)
  • Library of Congress subjects Religion, Religions
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 2010021750
  • Dewey Decimal Code 200

Excerpt


A NOTE TO THE READER


THE WORLD DOESNT MATTER to us the way it used to. The intense and meaningful lives of Homers Greeks, and the grand hierarchy of meaning that structured Dantes medieval Christian world, both stand in stark contrast to our secular age. The world used to be, in its various forms, a world of sacred, shining things. The shining things now seem far away. This book is intended to bring them close once more.

The issues motivating our story are philosophical and literary, and we come at them from our professional background in these disciplines. But All Things Shining is intended for a nonspecialist audience, and we hope it will speak to a wide range of people. Anyone who lives in the contemporary world has the background to read it, and anyone who hopes to enrich his or her life by experiencing it in the light of classic philosophical and literary works can hope to find something here. Anyone who wants to lure back the shining things, to uncover the wonder we were once capable of experiencing and to reveal a world that sometimes calls forth such a mood; anyone who is done with indecision and waiting, with expressionlessness and lostness and sadness and angst, and who is ready for whatever it is that comes next; anyone with hope instead of despair, or anyone with despair that they would like to leave behind, can find something worthwhile in the pages ahead. Or at least that is what we intend.

2011 Hubert Dreyfus

Media reviews

Stunning! This is one of the most surprising, demanding, and beautiful books I have ever read. My compliments gentleman, and I hope thousands of others share my admirationand awe.
--Charles Van Doren, author of A History of Knowledge

About the author

Hubert Dreyfus is a leading interpreter of existential philosophy. He has taught at UC Berkeley for more than 40 years.

Sean Dorrance Kelly is Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Harvard University. He is also Co-Chair of Harvard's interdisciplinary committee for the study of Mind, Brain, and Behavior. Before arriving at Harvard, Kelly taught at Stanford and Princeton, and he was a Visiting Professor at the Ecole Normale Suprieure in Paris. He is considered a leading interpreter of the French and German tradition in phenomenology, as well as a prominent philosopher of mind. Kelly has published articles in numerous journals and anthologies and has received fellowships or awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the NEH, the NSF and the James S. McDonnell Foundation, among others.

Back to Top

More Copies for Sale

All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age

All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age

by Dreyfus, Hubert; Kelly, Sean Dorrance

  • Used
  • Good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781416596158 / 1416596151
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6.44
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Free Press, 2011. Hardcover. Good. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
$6.44
FREE shipping to USA
All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age

All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age

by Dreyfus, Hubert; Kelly, Sean Dorrance

  • Used
  • Good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781416596158 / 1416596151
Quantity Available
6
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6.44
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Free Press, 2011. Hardcover. Good. Former library book; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
$6.44
FREE shipping to USA
All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age

All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age

by Dreyfus, Hubert; Kelly, Sean Dorrance

  • Used
  • Very Good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Very Good
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781416596158 / 1416596151
Quantity Available
3
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6.44
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Free Press, 2011. Hardcover. Very Good. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
$6.44
FREE shipping to USA
All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age

All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age

by Dreyfus, Hubert; Kelly, Sean Dorrance

  • Used
  • Good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781416596158 / 1416596151
Quantity Available
5
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6.44
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Free Press, 2011. Hardcover. Good. Missing dust jacket; Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
$6.44
FREE shipping to USA
All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age

All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age

by Dreyfus, Hubert; Kelly, Sean Dorrance

  • Used
  • Hardcover
Condition
New
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781416596158 / 1416596151
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$6.44
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Free Press, 2011. Hardcover. Like New. Pages are clean and are not marred by notes or folds of any kind. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
$6.44
FREE shipping to USA
All Things Shining : Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

All Things Shining : Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age

by Dreyfus, Hubert L., Kelly, Sean Dorrance

  • Used
Condition
Used - Good
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781416596158 / 1416596151
Quantity Available
7
Seller
Mishawaka, Indiana, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$7.09
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Free Press. Used - Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.
Item Price
$7.09
FREE shipping to USA
All Things Shining : Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

All Things Shining : Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age

by Dreyfus, Hubert L., Kelly, Sean Dorrance

  • Used
Condition
Used - Good
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781416596158 / 1416596151
Quantity Available
5
Seller
Mishawaka, Indiana, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$7.09
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Free Press. Used - Good. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.
Item Price
$7.09
FREE shipping to USA
All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age

by Dreyfus, Hubert Kelly, Sean Dorrance

  • Used
  • Very Good
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
Used - Very Good
Edition
First Edition NL with 1
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781416596158 / 1416596151
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Eunumclaw, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$7.25
$7.00 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
USA: Free Press, 2011. Free Press 2011 First Edition NL with 1 Very Good/Very Good++ DJ Exterior like new with light-tan spine and dark spine lettering with dark grey boards. Pos penned inside cover. Pen underlining through page 47 o/w Fine, 254 pages with index. Minimal shelfwear to bright dust jacket.. First Edition NL with 1. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good++ DJ.
Item Price
$7.25
$7.00 shipping to USA
All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age

by Dreyfus, Hubert

  • Used
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used: Good
Edition
First Edition
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781416596158 / 1416596151
Quantity Available
1
Seller
HOUSTON, Texas, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 3 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$10.31
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Free Press, 2011-01-04. First Edition. hardcover. Used: Good.
Item Price
$10.31
FREE shipping to USA
All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

All Things Shining: Reading the Western Classics to Find Meaning in a Secular Age

by Hubert Dreyfus, Sean Dorrance Kelly

  • Used
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
Used - Good Condition
Edition
[ Edition: First Edition ]
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9781416596158 / 1416596151
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Blacksburg, Virginia, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$12.18
$4.25 shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
[ Edition: First Edition ]. Good Condition. [ No Hassle 30 Day Returns ][ Ships Daily ] [ Underlining/Highlighting: NONE ] [ Writing: NONE ] Publisher: Free Press Pub Date: 1/4/2011 Binding: Hardcover Pages: 272
Item Price
$12.18
$4.25 shipping to USA