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The idea of the pre-existence of the soul has been extremely important, widespread, and persistent throughout Western history--from even before the philosophy of Plato to the poetry of Robert Frost. When Souls Had Wings offers the first systematic history of this little explored feature of Western culture. Terryl Givens describes the tradition of pre-existence as "pre-heaven"--the place where unborn souls wait until they descend to
earth to be born. And typically it is seen as a descent--a falling away from a happier and untroubled state into the turbulent and sinful world we know. The title of the book refers to the idea put forward in
antiquity that our souls begin with wings, and that only after shedding those wings do we fall to earth. The book not only traces the history of the idea of pre-existence, but also captures its meaning for those who have embraced it. Givens describes how pre-existence has been invoked to explain "the better angels of our nature," including the human yearning for transcendence and the sublime. Pre-existence has been said to account for why we know what we should not know, whether in the form of
a Greek slave's grasp of mathematics, the moral sense common to humanity, or the human ability to recognize universals. The belief has explained human bonds that seem to have their own mysterious
prehistory, salved the wounded sensibility of a host of thinkers who could not otherwise account for the unevenly distributed pain and suffering that are humanity's common lot, and has been posited by philosophers and theologians alike to salvage the principle of human freedom and accountability. When Souls had Wings underscores how durable (and controversial) this idea has been throughout the history of Western thought, the theological dangers it has represented,
and how prominently it has featured in poetry, literature, and art.
The idea of the pre-existence of the soul has been extremely important, widespread, and persistent throughout Western history--from even before the philosophy of Plato to the poetry of Robert Frost. When Souls Had Wings offers the first systematic history of this little explored feature of Western culture. Terryl Givens describes the tradition of pre-existence as "pre-heaven"--the place where unborn souls wait until they descend to
earth to be born. And typically it is seen as a descent--a falling away from a happier and untroubled state into the turbulent and sinful world we know. The title of the book refers to the idea put forward in
antiquity that our souls begin with wings, and that only after shedding those wings do we fall to earth. The book not only traces the history of the idea of pre-existence, but also captures its meaning for those who have embraced it. Givens describes how pre-existence has been invoked to explain "the better angels of our nature," including the human yearning for transcendence and the sublime. Pre-existence has been said to account for why we know what we should not know, whether in the form of
a Greek slave's grasp of mathematics, the moral sense common to humanity, or the human ability to recognize universals. The belief has explained human bonds that seem to have their own mysterious
prehistory, salved the wounded sensibility of a host of thinkers who could not otherwise account for the unevenly distributed pain and suffering that are humanity's common lot, and has been posited by philosophers and theologians alike to salvage the principle of human freedom and accountability. When Souls had Wings underscores how durable (and controversial) this idea has been throughout the history of Western thought, the theological dangers it has represented,
and how prominently it has featured in poetry, literature, and art.
Prologue
Introduction
1. Ancient Near Eastern Traditions
2. Classical Variants
3. Philo to Christian Beginnings
4. Neo-Platonism and the Church Fathers
5. Augustine and the Formation of Orthodoxy
6. Middle Ages to the Renaissance
7. Cambridge Platonists and the Miltonic Heritage
8. The Eighteenth Century and the Cartesian Aftermath
9. Philosophy and Theology 1800-1900
10. Romanticism and Transcendentalism 1800-1900
11. Pre-Existence in the Modern Age
12. Parallel Paradigms
Epilogue
Terryl L. Givens is Professor of Literature and Religion and holds
the Jabez A. Bostwick Chair of English at the University of
Richmond. Some of his books include Viper on the Hearth: Mormons,
Myths, and the Construction of Heresy (Oxford, 1997), By the Hand
of Mormon: The American Scripture that Launched a New World
Religion (Oxford 2002), which the New York Times called
"provocative reading," People of Paradox: A
History of Mormon Culture, which was named Best Book of the Year by
the Mormon History Association for 2007, and most recently, The
Book of Mormon: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford 2009).
"Givens could make a reader stop and think twice about a joke on a
LaffyTaffy wrapper. Imagine what he could do with a concept as
deep, rich, and personal as the preexistence of the soul...For a
greater appreciation for (and understanding of) the idea of
preexistence, this unique book is a must-read." --Association for
Mormon Letters
''Terryl Givens offers a brilliant intellectual history of this
enduring notion that humanity's spiritual identity can be traced to
a state or place that preexists mortal life....The intellectual
power of this volume derives in part from its vast historical
expanse. Givens chronicles varying interpretations of preexistence
across some thirty centuries and countless European and American
social settings....Readers from all backgrounds will find
themselves
engaged in this spirited conversation, pondering the relative
merits of the partisan arguments advanced over the long course of
Western thought.'' -Brad Fuller, Church History
''The deeper we venture into Christian history, the more struck we
must be at the many different positions that believers have held
over time, and how radically these differed from what became the
Christian mainstream. Terryl Givens ranges far and wide both within
''Christianity and outside to show just how very persistent in
Western thought has been the notion that our souls existed long
before we were born, with all the implications of that belief.
His
provocative book is rich and often startling.'' -Philip Jenkins,
author of God's Continent
''This is a fascinating, learned and engagingly-written account of
an ancient idea-best known from Plato's Timaeus-that has stubbornly
reappeared in thinkers as diverse as Origen, Jakob Boehme, Henry
More, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Nicholas Berdyaev....Historians
and theologians will benefit from Givens's persuasive account of
why Christian orthodoxy, after Augustine's early vacillation,
finally rejected pre-existence...''
-Gerald R. McDermott, author of The Theology of Jonathan
Edwards
''This stimulating and ambitious book arcs across the intellectual
and religious heavens from ancient Mesopotamia to contemporary
studies of consciousness and memory boundaries. It demonstrates
vividly why and how the troubling notion (for westerners) of
pre-existence has in fact continually helped to shape our theories
of soul and of identity, often in surprising ways. This is the
history of a mutating idea at its best.''
--Michael J. B. Allen, Distinguished Professor of English, UCLA
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