Living with the devil

a meditation on good and evil

1st Riverhead trade pbk. ed.
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Last edited by MARC Bot
August 11, 2024 | History

Living with the devil

a meditation on good and evil

1st Riverhead trade pbk. ed.
  • 0 Ratings
  • 1 Want to read
  • 1 Currently reading
  • 0 Have read

"Living with the Devil is Stephen Batchelor's work on humankind's greatest struggle - to become good. Batchelor traces the trajectory - from the words of the Buddha and Christ, through the writings at Shantideva, Milton, and Pascal, to the poetry of Baudelaire and the fiction of Kafka - of impediments that keep us from doing what's in our own and others' best interests. He shows us the myriad forms those obstacles take: a wandering farmer, a caring friend, a devout religious believer, a powerful king, even a frustrated old man who doodles in the sand when he cannot snare the Buddha. The devil need not appear with horns and a forked tail: he stands for everything that paralyzes our innate wisdom, freedom, and empathy, thus blocking our paths in life. In a world of black and white, Batchelor paints in shades of gray, illustrating what it means to live in an ambiguous and precarious environment that continually tempts us from what we hold to be good." "Drawing on classic religious texts from East and West, as well as the findings of modern physics and evolutionary biology, Batchelor asks us to examine who we really are, and to rest in the uncertainty that we may never know." "Living with the Devil tells a tale that weaves its way among philosophy, religion, and science, and psychology, history, and myth. This is a book that will challenge your attitudes, your beliefs, the very way you live your life."--BOOK JACKET.

Publish Date
Publisher
Riverhead Books
Language
English
Pages
224

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: Living with the Devil
Living with the Devil
June 7, 2005, Riverhead Trade
Paperback in English
Cover of: Living with the devil
Living with the devil: a meditation on good and evil
2005, Riverhead Books
in English - 1st Riverhead trade pbk. ed.
Cover of: Living with the devil
Living with the devil: a meditation on good and evil
2004, Riverhead Books
in English

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Book Details


Table of Contents

The God of this age
Creating a path
Living with the devil.

Edition Notes

Includes bibliographical references (p. 213-222).

Published in
New York

Classifications

Library of Congress
BQ4301 .B37 2005

The Physical Object

Pagination
224 p. ;
Number of pages
224

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL19682191M
Internet Archive
livingwithdevilm00batc
ISBN 10
1594480877
ISBN 13
9781594480874
OCLC/WorldCat
61669111
Library Thing
2933896
Goodreads
260633

Excerpts

THIS IS A BOOK for those like myself who find themselves living in the gaps between different and sometimes conflicting mythologies-epic narratives that help us make sense of this brief life on earth.
added anonymously.

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History

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August 11, 2024 Edited by MARC Bot import existing book
December 17, 2022 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
August 19, 2020 Edited by ImportBot import existing book
February 13, 2020 Edited by MARC Bot remove fake subjects
December 10, 2009 Created by WorkBot add works page