Jonathan Benthall

Anthology of social science materials on the role of the human body as a morphological complex of symbols and meanings. The suggestion is that industrial man placed too much emphasis on the study of verbal language resulting in "overspecialization". Have we neglected or repressed the expressive potentials of the human body? Includes Birdwhistell on "expression", MacRae on the social metaphor of the body, and Hinde/Poole on Signs and Meaning. Bates on "The Hand" with illustrative Plates. "The symbolic hand in the sky represents the Sun god in ancient Egypt. [176,190 n.3 - also citing cave paintings, medieval iconography]. The expert on Milton, Boradbent, relates the 17th century poets to such modern prophets of bodily liberation as Herbert Marcuse, Norman Brown and Ken Patchen. He sees the contemporary concern with the body, such as it is, as a symptom of our inability to make sense of the cosmos and our cluttered society.

"Because my hands hear the flowers thinking" [326]. - Patchen… (plus d'informations)