Human Development, Language and the Future of Mankind The Madness of Culture

"Why do we blithely destroy our own futures in the pursuit of self-interest? What kind of being has an interest in its own destruction? What if our current sense of 'normality' were in fact a particularly pervasive and stubborn form of madness? Making a clear, well-researched, and often compelling case for this provocative view, Berger suggests a way to restore some sanity to our world grown mad. By stepping back and thinking realistically about what human survival requires, we can develop child-rearing practices that will help us heal the malignant divide between our skillful embodiment and our linguistic self-understanding. There is much food for thought in this wise book." - Iain Thomson, University of New Mexico, USA