The Force of Character: And the Lasting Life

Hillman, James

ISBN 10: 0375406913 ISBN 13: 9780375406911

Verlag: Random House, 1999

Inhaltsangabe

Book by Hillman James

Über diesen Titel

Reseña del editor

The best-selling author of The Soul's Code presents a incisive study of the aging process that argues that even the debilitating changes associated with aging become meaningful as they serve to promote the fulfillment and confirmation of one's unique character. Read by James Hillman. Simultaneous.

Nota de la solapa

In his bestselling The Soul's Code, James Hillman    restored passion and meaning to the concept of identity, arguing that each of us is born with an innate character, the "daimon" or "spirit" that calls us  to what we are meant to be. Now, in The Force of Character, Hillman brings the idea of character full circle, offering a revolutionary new vision of life's most feared and misunderstood chapter: old age.
    
"Aging is no accident," Hillman writes. "It is necessary to the human condition, intended by the soul." We become more characteristic of who we are simply by lasting into later years; the older we become, the more our true natures emerge. Thus the final years have a very important purpose: the fulfillment and confirmation of one's character.
      
Contrary to the current genetic determinism that sees increased longevity as a wasted aberrance created by civilization, The Force of Character presents an explosive new thesis: The changes of old age, even the debilitating ones, have purposes and values organized by the psyche. Memory for recent events may falter, offering more place for long-term recollections. A heart condition in later life brings an opportunity to remove blockages from constricted relationships, while changes in sleep patterns allow the old to experience the profound elements of nighttime that we usually overlook. As Hillman says, "Aging makes metaphors of biology."
  
In this empowering and original work, James Hillman resurrects the ancient, widespread, and socially effective idea of the old person as "ancestor," a model for the young, the bearer of a society's cultural memory and traditions. America disregards old people who aren't young-acting and young-looking. We don't realize that "oldness" is an archetypal state of being that can add value and luster to things we treasure, places we revere, and people's character. When we open our imaginations to the idea of the ancestor, aging can free us from convention and transform us into a force of nature, releasing our deepest beliefs for the benefit of society.  For all who read it, The Force of Character will be a seminal,  life-affirming experience.
From the Hardcover edition.

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Random House
• Erscheinungsdatum: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0375406913
• ISBN 13: 9780375406911
• Einband: Casete de audio
• Sprache: Englisch