The Marriage of Sense and Soul: Integrating Science and Religion - Hardcover

Wilber, Ken

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375500545 ISBN 13: 9780375500541

Publisher: Random House, 1998

Synopsis

There is arguably no more critical and pressing topic than the relation of science and religion in the modern world. Science has given us the methods for discovering truth, while religion remains the single greatest force for generating meaning. Yet the two are seen as mutually exclusive, with wrenching consequences for humanity. In The Marriage of Sense and Soul, one of today's most important philosophers brilliantly articulates how we might begin to think about science and religion in ways that allow for their reconciliation and union, on terms that will be acceptable to both camps.
        Ken Wilber is widely acclaimed as the foremost thinker in integrating Western psychology and the Eastern spiritual traditions. His many books have reached across disciplines and synthesized the teachings of religion, psychology, physics, mysticism, sociology, and anthropology, earning him a devoted international following. The Marriage of Sense and Soul is his most accessible work yet, aimed at guiding a general audience to the mutual accord between the spiritual, subjective world of ancient wisdom and the objective, empirical world of modern knowledge.
        Wilber clearly and succinctly explores the schism between science and religion, and the impact of this "philosophical Cold War" on the fate of humanity. He systematically reviews previous attempts at integration, explaining why romantic, idealistic, and postmodern theories failed. And he demonstrates how science is compatible with certain deep features common to all of the world's major religious traditions. In pointing the way to a union between truth and meaning, Ken Wilber has created an elegant and accessible book that is breathtaking in its scope.

About this title

From the Back Cover

"No one--not even Jung--has done as much as Wilber to open Western psychology to the durable insights of the world's wisdom traditions. Slowly, surely, book by book, Ken Wilber is laying the foundations for a genuine East/West integration."
--Houston Smith, author of The World's Religions

"Ken Wilber is one of the most important pioneers in the field of consciousness in this century. I regard him as my mentor. He is a source of inspiration and insight to all of us. Read everything he writes. It will change your life."
--Deepak Chopra, M.D., author of The Seven Spiritual Laws for Parents

"The Marriage of Sense and Soul handles this difficult topic as well as anything I've seen. At one and the same time, it offers the reader philosophy with a tender heart and spirituality with analytical rigor. After reading Wilber, it's impossible to imagine looking at the world the same way again."
--Mitchell Kapor, founder of Lotus, Inc.

"Ken Wilber is one of the important philosophers of our era, and a writer of striking lucidity. His new book on religion and science is a transforming experience."
--Daniel Yankelovich, president of Public Agenda, author of Ego and Instinct and The Magic of Dialog

"Ken Wilber might very well have succeeded in this most important of tasks. Nobody is integrating the sciences and spiritual knowledge with Wilber's scope and integrative power. This book is certainly the best treatment I have seen of this topic, and, like other of Wilber's books, promises to be history-making."
--Michael Murphy, cofounder of the Esalen Institute, author of Golf in the Kingdom and The Future of the Body

"Ken Wilber is one of our most creative and significant thinkers, and his work models what philosophy, social theory, and intellectual life ought to be about. Wilber is brilliant at capturing the entire development of human thought, showing its limitations, helping us find avenues of transcendence. Wilber blends a perceptive sensitivity to the nuances of spiritual life with a profound intellectual sophistication. The upshot is a pleasure to read: accessible, deep, provocative, and ultimately very moving."
--Michael Lerner, editor of Tikkun magazine, author of The Politics of Meaning

About the Author

Ken Wilber's first book, The Spectrum of Con-sciousness, written when he was only twenty-three, was hailed as "the most sensible, comprehensive book about consciousness since William James.  He is the author of more than a dozen books, including Grace and Grit; Sex, Ecology, Spirituality; A Brief History of Everything; and The Eye of Spirit; and his large readership has kept all of his books in print. He lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0375500545
• ISBN 13: 9780375500541
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 225