The Soul of the Marionette : Short Enquiry into Human Freedom

The Soul of the Marionette : Short Enquiry into Human Freedom
ISBN: 9780241953907
Publication Date: 13 June 2016

TLS Books of the Year 2016

Everyone thinks they want to be free - or do they? John Gray's thought-stirring new book on freedom draws together insights from Gnosticism, science fiction, ancient sacrifice and the occult to show that freedom is an illusion and that, like fairground puppets, humans dream of escaping the burden of choice altogether.

In The Soul of the Marionette, 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 forces - biological, physical, metaphysical - constrain 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.

This is a stimulating and enraging meditation on everything from cybernetics to the fairground marionettes of the title.

About the Author

John Gray's most recent books are Straw Dogs: Thoughts on Humans and Other Animals, Al-Qaeda and What It Means To Be Modern and Heresies: Against Progress and Other Illusions. He is Professor of European Thought at the London School of Economics.**