The real wonder is not that the Cosmos is now seen as wonderful but that it is not. Despite its inconceivable vastness, it is seen not as wonderful but as something that can be explained as a dyadic system.
Walker Percy Lost in the Cosmos: The...
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In "Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book," Walker Percy reflects on the vastness of the universe and our perception of it. He points out the paradox that while the cosmos is truly magnificent and expansive, society often views it merely as a complex system that can be understood and explained, rather than something inherently marvelous. This perspective reduces the awe-inspiring nature of the cosmos to a simple dyadic framework.

Percy's observation suggests a disconnect between human experience and the profound reality of the universe. Instead of embracing the wonder of existence, many tend to analyze and compartmentalize it, missing out on the deeper appreciation that comes from recognizing the sheer majesty of the cosmos. This commentary invites readers to reconsider their views on the universe and to seek a more meaningful connection with it beyond mere explanation.

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Lost in the Cosmos: The...
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Other quotes in Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book

The salvation of art derives in the best of modern times from a celebration of the triumph of the autonomous self-as in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony-and in the worst of times from naming the unspeakable: the strange and feckless movements of the self trying to escape itself. Exhilaration comes from naming the unnameable and hearing it named. If Kafka's Metamorphosis is presently a more accurate account of the self than Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, it is the more exhilarating for being so.
Walker Percy Lost in the Cosmos: The...
The salvation of art derives in the best of modern times from a celebration of the triumph of the autonomous self-as in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony-and in the worst of times from naming the unspeakable: the strange and feckless movements of the self trying to escape itself. Exhilaration comes from naming the unnameable and hearing it named. If Kafka's Metamorphosis is presently a more accurate account of the self than Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, it is the more exhilarating for being so.
It is difficult for gods to walk the earth without taking the forms of beasts.
Walker Percy Lost in the Cosmos: The...
It is difficult for gods to walk the earth without taking the forms of beasts.
For me, all signifiers fit me, one as well as another. I am rascal, hero, craven, brave, treacherous, loyal, at once the secret hero and asshole of the Cosmos.
Walker Percy Lost in the Cosmos: The...
For me, all signifiers fit me, one as well as another. I am rascal, hero, craven, brave, treacherous, loyal, at once the secret hero and asshole of the Cosmos.
The evolutionary facts about the emergence of man, e.g., the sudden appearance of Homo sapiens sapiens {Cro-Magnon man} no more than 35 thousand years ago, are as spectacular as the account in Genesis and allow hardly less room for theology.
Walker Percy Lost in the Cosmos: The...
The evolutionary facts about the emergence of man, e.g., the sudden appearance of Homo sapiens sapiens {Cro-Magnon man} no more than 35 thousand years ago, are as spectacular as the account in Genesis and allow hardly less room for theology.
Neo-Darwinian theory has trouble accounting for the strange, sudden, and belated appearance of man, the conscious self which speaks, lies, deceives itself, and also tells the truth.
Walker Percy Lost in the Cosmos: The...
Neo-Darwinian theory has trouble accounting for the strange, sudden, and belated appearance of man, the conscious self which speaks, lies, deceives itself, and also tells the truth.
Francis Crick, co-winner of the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the structure of DNA, believes that DNA could only have arrived from space, sent in the form of bacteria from more advanced civilizations.
Walker Percy Lost in the Cosmos: The...
Francis Crick, co-winner of the Nobel Prize for the discovery of the structure of DNA, believes that DNA could only have arrived from space, sent in the form of bacteria from more advanced civilizations.
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Other quotes in book quote

"That's a huge gamble." "We're long past the time for careful certainty."
Peter F. Hamilton The Evolutionary Void
"That's a huge gamble." "We're long past the time for careful certainty."
When had it become so ingrained in her to apologize whenever she wanted something for herself?
Robin Hobb The Rain Wilds...
When had it become so ingrained in her to apologize whenever she wanted something for herself?
Relationships and marriages are hard enough, but you add war into the mix and small fissures become gaping wounds. No one sees what you're seeing - again that clear-eyed, unbiased thing - except your fellow soldiers. It's like one of those movies where only the hero can see the ghosts and everyone else thinks the hero is crazy.
Harlan Coben Fool Me Once
Relationships and marriages are hard enough, but you add war into the mix and small fissures become gaping wounds. No one sees what you're seeing - again that clear-eyed, unbiased thing - except your fellow soldiers. It's like one of those movies where only the hero can see the ghosts and everyone else thinks the hero is crazy.
I think I couldn't love him at all if he was the sort of man to make me choose between him and my writing. And
Meljean Brook The Kraken King and the...
I think I couldn't love him at all if he was the sort of man to make me choose between him and my writing. And
Sociologists have a theory of the looking - glass self. You become what the most important person in your life {wife, father, boss, etc.} thinks you are. How would my life change if I truly believed the Bible's astounding words about God's love for me, if I looked in the mirror and saw what God sees?
Philip Yancey What's So Amazing About...
Sociologists have a theory of the looking - glass self. You become what the most important person in your life {wife, father, boss, etc.} thinks you are. How would my life change if I truly believed the Bible's astounding words about God's love for me, if I looked in the mirror and saw what God sees?
Arisha noticed that all the greenery and trees were dying the more they walked on. They finally arrived at a large clearing of a hidden valley. But it was desert like, bounded by the foothills of the mountains on one side and the dry rocky bluffs on the other. It seemed strange to Arisha. It seemed like a little pocket of dry desert death in the midst of an otherwise lively area. She stopped, stunned by the sight before her.
Brian Godawa Joshua Valiant
Arisha noticed that all the greenery and trees were dying the more they walked on. They finally arrived at a large clearing of a hidden valley. But it was desert like, bounded by the foothills of the mountains on one side and the dry rocky bluffs on the other. It seemed strange to Arisha. It seemed like a little pocket of dry desert death in the midst of an otherwise lively area. She stopped, stunned by the sight before her.
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