{"title":"Mark Edmundson","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMark Edmundson\u003c\/strong\u003e invites readers to explore profound questions about identity, culture, and the human condition. His works weave together meticulous reflection with a deep engagement in \u003cem\u003earts and culture\u003c\/em\u003e, encouraging a thoughtful examination of society and self.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith a voice that is both philosophical and accessible, Edmundson's books offer insight into personal growth and the complexities of modern life. Expect to find a blend of cultural critique and \u003cem\u003eself-help\u003c\/em\u003e that challenges and inspires.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-age-of-guilt-by-mark-edmundson-9780300265811","title":"The Age of Guilt","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eHow Freud’s concept of the super-ego can help us to understand the harsh cultural climate of the digital age\u003c\/b\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCancellation, scapegoating, raving on Twitter. How did the Internet, which began as a place for open thought and exchange, become a forum for cruelty and judgment? Can a whole culture become mentally ill? How do we understand and respond to this problem?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMark Edmundson views contemporary culture and discourse through Freud’s concept of the super-ego, the moralistic and frequently irrational inner judge. The poet William Blake was attuned to this “dark pressure of self-condemnation,” and Nietzsche knew its power as well. One way to mitigate (temporarily) the self-judgment of the super-ego is to aim it outward instead, judging and even punishing others for supposed infractions. Naturally, these targets fight back, resulting in a cascade of bitterness and even hatred.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEdmundson traces the destructive passion of the super-ego on politics, race, gender, class, education, and more, drawing on psychological studies, classroom experience, and the work of Adam Phillips and Slavoj Žižek. Edmundson proposes ways to manage the super-ego and even to transform it into an affirmative power.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eThe Age of Guilt\u003c\/i\u003e, Edmundson recovers the promise of Freudian theory as he explores our unique social moment with psychological insight, humanity, and erudition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46868818886892,"sku":"9780300265811","price":44.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/24655853482294.jpg?v=1759770791"},{"product_id":"song-of-ourselves-by-mark-edmundson-9780674237162","title":"Song of Ourselves","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn the midst of a crisis of democracy, we have much to learn from Walt Whitman's journey toward egalitarian selfhood.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWalt Whitman knew a great deal about democracy that we don't. Most of that knowledge is concentrated in one stunning poem, \u003cem\u003eSong of Myself\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEsteemed cultural and literary thinker Mark Edmundson offers a bold reading of the 1855 poem, included here in its entirety. He finds in the poem the genesis and development of a democratic spirit, for the individual and the nation. Whitman broke from past literature that he saw as \"feudal\": obsessed with the noble and great. He wanted instead to celebrate the common and everyday. \u003cem\u003eSong of Myself\u003c\/em\u003e does this, setting the terms for democratic identity and culture in America.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe work captures the drama of becoming an egalitarian individual, as the poet ascends to knowledge and happiness by confronting and overcoming the major obstacles to democratic selfhood. In the course of his journey, the poet addresses God and Jesus, body and soul, the love of kings, the fear of the poor, and the fear of death. The poet's consciousness enlarges; he can see more, comprehend more, and he has more to teach.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn Edmundson's account, Whitman's great poem does not end with its last line. Seven years after the poem was published, Whitman went to work in hospitals, where he attended to the Civil War's wounded, sick, and dying. He thus became in life the democratic individual he had prophesied in art. Even now, that prophecy gives us words, thoughts, and feelings to feed the democratic spirit of self and nation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47471585427692,"sku":"9780674237162","price":63.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780674237162-song-of-ourselves.jpg?v=1775247536"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/mark-edmundson.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}