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Earthwalk
Philip Slater is the most astute analyst and critic of American society, bar none. He also wrote some other very cogent books, including "The Pursuit of Loneliness" and "Wealth Addiction," but this is his masterpiece. It is an utterly brilliant book, but one that will be rejected out of hand by those who still believe in the myth of progress. One short excerpt will give you the "The kind of growth Western culture has experienced over the past three hundred years would be considered a sign of gross malfunction in any other context. Healthy growth is paced differently - it does not absorb or destroy everything living around it. It is cancerous cells that grow and reproduce rapidly in total disregard of their connection with surrounding cells. From this viewpoint technology would have to be regarded as a cancer on human culture, Western culture as a cancer on the human species, and the human species as a cancer on terrestrial life - a cancer that may in the end be treated by radiation and radical surgery at the same time."
- GenresSociologyPsychology
240 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1974
About the author
Philip Slater
19 books15 followersPhilip Slater was an author, actor, playwright, and sociologist. He taught sociology at Harvard, Brandeis, and the University of California at Santa Cruz. He obtained a doctorate from Harvard.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/boo...
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/boo...
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 5, 2022
Amazon review
A Monumental Book
Philip Slater is the most astute analyst and critic of American society, bar none. He also wrote some other very cogent books, including "The Pursuit of Loneliness" and "Wealth Addiction," but this is his masterpiece. It is an utterly brilliant book, but one that will be rejected out of hand by those who still believe in the myth of progress. One short excerpt will give you the idea:
"The kind of growth Western culture has experienced over the past three hundred years would be considered a sign of gross malfunction in any other context. Healthy growth is paced differently - it does not absorb or destroy everything living around it. It is cancerous cells that grow and reproduce rapidly in total disregard of their connection with surrounding cells. From this viewpoint technology would have to be regarded as a cancer on human culture, Western culture as a cancer on the human species, and the human species as a cancer on terrestrial life - a cancer that may in the end be treated by radiation and radical surgery at the same time."
Read it and weep for the future of our children, and the planet.
acerbas
A Monumental Book
Philip Slater is the most astute analyst and critic of American society, bar none. He also wrote some other very cogent books, including "The Pursuit of Loneliness" and "Wealth Addiction," but this is his masterpiece. It is an utterly brilliant book, but one that will be rejected out of hand by those who still believe in the myth of progress. One short excerpt will give you the idea:
"The kind of growth Western culture has experienced over the past three hundred years would be considered a sign of gross malfunction in any other context. Healthy growth is paced differently - it does not absorb or destroy everything living around it. It is cancerous cells that grow and reproduce rapidly in total disregard of their connection with surrounding cells. From this viewpoint technology would have to be regarded as a cancer on human culture, Western culture as a cancer on the human species, and the human species as a cancer on terrestrial life - a cancer that may in the end be treated by radiation and radical surgery at the same time."
Read it and weep for the future of our children, and the planet.
acerbas
March 9, 2022
What an insightful book. One of Philip's large philosophies was that the more choices that we have, the more unhappy we seem to be. You could say he wasn't too into technology.
The most treasured message I've gotten from this book was one of complete connectivity. For example, his last sentence in the book "Connectedness involves a recognition that uniqueness is a collective product."
The most treasured message I've gotten from this book was one of complete connectivity. For example, his last sentence in the book "Connectedness involves a recognition that uniqueness is a collective product."
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews