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Yale University Press Highlights
The Master and His Emissary
Why is the brain divided? The difference between right and left hemispheres has been puzzled over for centuries. Drawing upon a vast body of brain research, the renowned psychiatrist, author, and thinker Iain McGilchrist reveals that the difference between the two sides is profound—two whole, coherent, but incompatible ways of experiencing the world. The detail-oriented left hemisphere prefers mechanisms to living things and is inclined to self-interest, while the right hemisphere has greater breadth, flexibility, and generosity.
In the second part of his book, McGilchrist takes the reader on a journey through the history of Western culture, illustrating the tension between these two worlds as revealed in the thought and belief of thinkers and artists from the ancient to the modern, from Aeschylus to Magritte. He ultimately argues that, despite its inferior grasp of reality, the left hemisphere is increasingly taking precedence in today’s world—with potentially disastrous consequences.
The Herbal Year
From sweet violets in spring to rosemary in winter, via marigolds, sage, elderberries, and hops, every season has its own bounty of herbs and plants. Christina Hart-Davies presents a delightful guide to common plants as they appear throughout the year. Drawing on writers, storytellers, and poets from across the centuries, she examines the long history of herbal remedies. She shows how plants have been used for healing and unearths the stories and beliefs that surround them—including simple recipes for use at home.
Fully illustrated with exquisitely detailed watercolours, this is an inspirational guide to exploring our age-old relationship with plants. Readers will discover the hidden secrets of the plants that surround us and, through this, will be able to reconnect with our place in nature. We have relied on plants throughout our history. We still do, and, with luck, we always will.
Existentialism Is a Humanism
It was to correct common misconceptions about his thought that Jean-Paul Sartre, the dominant European intellectual of the post–World War II decades, accepted an invitation to speak on October 29, 1945, at the Club Maintenant in Paris. The unstated objective of his lecture (“Existentialism Is a Humanism”) was to expound his philosophy as a form of “existentialism,” a term much bandied about at the time. Sartre asserted that existentialism was essentially a doctrine for philosophers, though, ironically, he was about to make it accessible to a general audience. The published text of his lecture quickly became one of the bibles of existentialism and made Sartre an international celebrity.
The idea of freedom occupies the center of Sartre’s doctrine. Man, born into an empty, godless universe, is nothing to begin with. He creates his essence—his self, his being—through the choices he freely makes (“existence precedes essence”). Were it not for the contingency of his death, he would never end. Choosing to be this or that is to affirm the value of what we choose. In choosing, therefore, we commit not only ourselves but all of mankind. This book presents a new English translation of Sartre’s 1945 lecture and his analysis of Camus’s The Stranger, along with a discussion of these works by acclaimed Sartre biographer Annie Cohen-Solal. This edition is a translation of the 1996 French edition, which includes Arlette Elkaïm-Sartre’s introduction and a Q&A with Sartre about his lecture.
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