A world-renowned philosopher’s genre-defying exploration of the mystery of consciousness
“[A] masterpiece. . . . The most thorough and rigorous account of the nature of reality to be
published in a century.”—James Matthew Wilson World Magazine In a blossoming garden
located far outside all worlds a group of aging Greek gods have gathered to discuss the nature
of existence the mystery of mind and whether there is a transcendent God from whom all things
come. Turning to Eros Psyche asks “Do you see this flower my love?” So begins David
Bentley Hart’s unprecedented exploration of the mystery of consciousness. Writing in the form
of a Platonic dialogue he systematically subjects the mechanical view of nature that has
prevailed in Western culture for four centuries to dialectical interrogation. Powerfully
rehabilitating a classical view in which mental acts are irreducible to material causes he
argues through the gods’ exchanges that the foundation of all reality is spiritual or mental
rather than material. The structures of mind organic life and even language together attest
to an infinite act of intelligence in all things that we may as well call God. Engaging
contemporary debates on the philosophy of mind free will revolutions in physics and biology
the history of science computational models of mind artificial intelligence information
theory linguistics cultural disenchantment and the metaphysics of nature Hart calls readers
back to an enchanted world in which nature is the residence of mysterious and vital
intelligences. He suggests that there is a very special wisdom to be gained when we in
Psyche’s words “devote more time to the contemplation of living things and less to the
fabrication of machines.”
