Immortal Gestures

There is an old Buddhist adage—the teachings are like a finger pointing to the moon. To achieve enlightenment, you are not supposed to look at the finger. You are supposed to look to the celestial light.

I am asking you to look at the finger. The finger is also the moon.

A tilted head. A finger to the lips. A wave that could mean emphasis or dismissal. A raised palm of piety and fellowship.

Our gestures do not simply point to our thoughts; they are our thoughts made flesh. They can be instinctive, intuitive, or calculated—or all three. They exist in the briefest moment and through history, in a gently turned wrist and across whole nations.

Our gestures drag stories with them, whether they mean to or not. They are invitations to think about how our worlds are larger than they seem—how we are much larger than we seem.

Join award-winning philosopher Damon Young—author of The Art of Reading and Philosophy in the Garden—as he sheds light on thirteen curious gestures. Drawing equally from classical poetry and science fiction, heavy metal, and ballet, Young illuminates our varied humanity from prehistory to today.

Immortal Gestures isn't just an endlessly fascinating and mind-expanding journey into the ways we communicate without words; it is a plea for an understanding of meaning and emotion that extends beyond language to fully incorporate the bodily.

-James Bradley, author of Deep Water

Constantly fascinating and written with deep care and insight. Damon Young deftly employs the resources of classical antiquity, anthropology, and philosophies ancient and modern to beautifully highlight what is hiding in plain sight—that collection of immortal gestures that play such a central role in making us who we are.

-Luke Stegemann, author of Madrid: a new biography

A compelling, revelatory dive beneath the logocentric surface. In a text full of surprises and charm, Young reveals and explores the vast deep worlds behind even the slightest movements.

-Darran Anderson, author of Imaginary Cities