Why read The Philosopher's Secret Fire?

Book cover of The Philosopher's Secret Fire

Book description

The visionary tradition of spirits, gods, and demons continues to subvert our rational universe, erupting from the shadows in times of intense religious and philosophical transition. In this dazzling history, Patrick Harpur links together fields as far apart as Greek philosophy and depth psychology, Renaissance magic and tribal ritual, Romantic…

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Plato

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Philosopher's Secret Fire as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Mark Vernon

Author

I did a PhD in ancient Greek philosophy, asking why Plato has such a massive influence on how we experience life. But strangely, although I learned a lot and am glad that I did it, the doctorate did not really answer my question.

I realized why, in part, by reading about the imagination, and this book is a brilliant account of its history. Harpur is a poet and mystic and understands that the imagination is not a private faculty that some lucky folk have, but is the very dynamic that fills our inner lives and everything around us.

I came…

From Mark's list on being free of the fear that you have no imagination.