The soul of the marionette : a short inquiry into human freedom

In The Soul of the Marionette, his brilliantly enjoyable and freewheeling book, John Gray draws together the religious, philosophic, and fantastical traditions that question the very idea of human freedom. Abstract: In The Soul of the Marionette, his brilliantly enjoyable and freewheeling book, John Gray draws together the religious, philosophic, and fantastical traditions that question the very idea of human freedom Compared with that of humans, the life of the marionette looks more like an enviable state of freedom In his brilliantly enjoyable and freewheeling new book, John Gray draws together the religious, philosophic, and fantastical traditions that question the very idea of human freedom. We flatter ourselves about the nature of free will and yet the most enormous forceslogical, physical, metaphysicalconstrain our every action. Many writers and intellectuals have always understood this, but instead of embracing our condition we battle against it, with everyone from world conquerors to modern scientists dreaming of a "human dominion" almost comically at odds with our true state. Filled with wonderful examples and drawing on the widest possible reading (from the Gnostics to Philip K. Dick), The Soul of the Marionette is a stimulating and engaging meditation on everything from cybernetics to the fairground marionettes of the title. Content: The faith of puppets: The freedom of the marionette the faith of puppets demiurgy and tailors' dummies Leopardi and the souls of machines the return of Ligeia The Golem and the circular ruins Solaris and our world The revelations of Philip K. Dick Entering the Zone Mr Weston drops a match -- In the puppet theatre: Roof gardens, feathers and human sacrifice Dark mirrors, hidden angels and an algorithmic prayer-wheel Human redundancy and the cyborg economy An iron mountain and a shifting spectacle A universal Panopticon Puppetry, conspiracy and Ouija boards When the machine stops -- Freedom for Über-marionettes: What science won't tell you Ethics for puppets Gravity and the fall.