Ariadne's Clue: A Guide To The Symbols Of Humankind. (Signed Presentaion Copy).

Stevens, Anthony.

ISBN 10: 0713992271 / ISBN 13: 9780713992274

Published by UK: Allen Lane, 1998: 0713992271, 1998

About this Item

Like New Signed And Inscribed First edition hardback with dust wrapper that has not been price clipped. The book is bound in black cloth with the titles blocked in gilt on the spine. The book measures 9½" x 6½", it has xii + 465 pages and is illustrated with b/w in-text, symbols, diagrams and drawings. Anthony Stevens has signed and inscribed the book on the front free endpaper:- 'To Michael, with best wishes Anthony Stevens. The dust wrapper, binding and contents are in pristine condition. Like New / Like New.

Seller Inventory # 20785

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Ariadne's Clue: A Guide To The Symbols Of Humankind. (Signed Presentaion Copy).
• Publisher: UK: Allen Lane, 1998: 0713992271
• Publication Date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0713992271
• ISBN 13: 9780713992274
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

Symbolism is the most powerful and ancient means of communication available to humankind. For centuries people have expressed their preoccupations and concerns through symbolism in the form of myths, stories, religions, and dreams. The meaning of symbols has long been debated among philosophers, antiquarians, theologians, and, more recently, anthropologists and psychologists. In Ariadne's Clue, distinguished analyst and psychiatrist Anthony Stevens explores the nature of symbols and explains how and why we create the symbols we do.

The book is divided into two parts: an interpretive section that concerns symbols in general and a "dictionary" that lists hundreds of symbols and explains their origins, their resemblances to other symbols, and the belief systems behind them. In the first section, Stevens takes the ideas of C. G. Jung a stage further, asserting not only that we possess an innate symbol-forming propensity that exists as a creative and integral part of our psychic make-up, but also that the human mind evolved this capacity as a result of selection pressures encountered by our species in the course of its evolutionary history. Stevens argues that symbol formation has an adaptive function: it promotes our grasp on reality and in dreams often corrects deficient modes of psychological functioning. In the second section, Stevens examines symbols under four headings: "The Physical Environment," "Culture and Psyche," "People, Animals, and Plants," and "The Body." Many of the symbols are illustrated in the book's rich variety of woodcuts. From the ancient symbol of the serpent to the archetypal masculine and feminine, from the earth to the stars, from the primordial landscape of the savannah to the mysterious depths of the sea, Stevens traces a host of common symbols back through time to reveal their psychodynamic functioning and looks at their deep-rooted effects on the lives of modern men, women, and children.

From the Back Cover

"Stevens has a unique capacity for relating myths and symbols to the way our psyches function today, thus bringing symbols alive rather than dismissing them as historical curiosities. He is also a stylish writer, and is able to link his conclusions from a variety of fields into a consistent, readable whole."--Anthony Storr, University of Oxford