immaterial being

I’ve encountered this book on several occasions in the past on the bookshelves of different bookstores, but had never reached the point of actually purchasing a copy - until a couple of days ago.

I think it caught my eye for a couple of reasons: 1) the title was intriguing; 2) the book’s cover always brought to my mind Paul Fussell’s hilarious book Class, which I loved reading. Anyway, I’m glad I finally got down to buying and to reading James P. Carse’s book. 

It’s been a while since I’ve read something that has informed and influenced my perspective on life and the world in such a broad and fundamental way. It’s a relatively short book, but quite dense in terms of ideas. It’s another reminder of how much society (and history) can shape our thinking without our conscious awareness. Mr. Carse gives us another way to look at our lives and our world, to think of them in terms of (infinite) possibilities and not in terms of achieving (finite) conclusions.

If you’ve already read this book, I would love to hear your thoughts on it.