For readers and thinkers on whom nothing is lost
For readers and thinkers on whom nothing is lost
It has always been a marvel to me how certain authors are capable of putting aside their own selves and portraying the fictional mind of their characters in such vivid and believable detail. Here, I consider whether an explanation for this ability can be found in the shamanic traditions and processes at the root of our human culture.
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When, in his 1884 essay ‘The Art of Fiction’, American novelist Henry James proposed his memorable mantra ‘Try to be one of the people on whom nothing is lost’, he was writing at a pivotal time for the novel form. Two centuries earlier, Enlightenment thinkers such as Descartes and John Locke had turned their backs on rigid, pre-established traditions of thought to instead ‘Look at the facts and think for [themselves]’,[1] […]
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