3,360 words
Part 5 of 7 (other parts here)
5. Can Biology Explain Ekstasis?
I have already mentioned that scientists speculate that cave art (and religion, language, etc.) comes about as a result of some kind of genetic mutation, perhaps a “sudden, serendipitous, genetically-based brain reorganization.” Read more …
The Stones Cry Out:
Cave Art & the Origin of the Human Spirit, Part 6
Man as microcosm
4,063 words
Part 6 of 7 (other parts here)
6. All and Nothing
In my account of ekstasis, I have drawn principally on two philosophers: Heidegger and Schopenhauer. And Hegel has been peeping out at certain points in my discussion (he will have a much bigger role to play very soon). But the truth is that the ideas I have been expounding in this essay have deep roots in the Western tradition, and are much older even than Hegel.
Read more …