1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910813014503321

Autore

Singer Irving

Titolo

The harmony of nature and spirit / / Irving Singer

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Cambridge, MA, : MIT Press, 2010

ISBN

1-282-54185-4

9786612541858

0-262-25920-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (245 p.)

Collana

Meaning in life ; ; 3

The Irving Singer library

Disciplina

128

Soggetti

Life

Meaning (Philosophy)

Philosophy of nature

Spirit

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Contents ; Preface to the Irving Singer Library Edition; Preface; Introduction: Nature and Spirit; Schopenhauer's Pendulum: Is Happiness Possibe?; Beyond The Suffering in Life; The Nature and Content of Happiness; Play and Mere Existence; Living in Nature ; Imagination and Idealization; Harmonization through Art; Art and Spirituality; The Continuum of Ends and Means; Aesthetic Foundations of Ethics and Religion; Conclusion: Love, Meaning, Happiness; Notes; Index

Sommario/riassunto

An acclaimed philosopher suggests that the art of living well employs the same principles as those that exist in all artistic creativity.This final book in Irving Singer's Meaning in Life trilogy studies the interaction between nature and the values that define human spirituality. It examines the ways in which we overcome the suffering in life by resolving our sense of being divided between them. Singer suggests that the accord between nature and spirit arises from an art of life that affords meaning, happiness, and love by employing the same principles as those that exist in all artistic achievements. It is through the meaningfulness created by imagination and idealization, Singer says, that we make life worth living.This human art form, Singer writes,



enables us to unite our selfish interests with our compassionate and loving inclinations. We thereby effect a vital harmonization within which the naturalistic values of ethics, aesthetics, and religion can find their legitimate place. The good life, as envisioned by Singer, includes the love of persons, things, and ideals so intricately intermeshed that the meaning in one contributes to the meaningfulness of the other two. The result is a kind of happiness that we all desire.