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Coming To

Consciousness and Natality in Early Modern England
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In Coming To, Professor Timothy M. Harrison explores the crucial, yet overlooked, role of poetry in the development of the concept of consciousness during the English seventeenth century. Tracing a transformative period when 'conscience' evolved into 'consciousness', Harrison connects the philosophical insights of René Descartes with the poetic works of John Milton, alongside the theological reflections of Thomas Traherne and the philosophy of John Locke. This interdisciplinary investigation sheds new light on how consciousness and human natality became central themes across literature, philosophy, and the history of science.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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This book is ideal for readers interested in the intersection of literature, philosophy, and the history of science, especially those fascinated by seventeenth-century English thought, Milton scholarship, and the evolution of consciousness studies. Academics and advanced students in arts and culture disciplines will find this a valuable resource.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In Coming To, Timothy M. Harrison uncovers the forgotten role of poetry in the history of the idea of consciousness. Drawing our attention to a sea change in the English seventeenth century, when, over the course of a half century, “conscience” made a sudden shift to “consciousness,” he traces a line that leads from the philosophy of René Descartes to the poetry of John Milton, from the prenatal memories of theologian Thomas Traherne to the unresolved perspective on natality, consciousness, and ethics in the philosophy of John Locke.

Each of these figures responded to the first-person perspective by turning to the origins of how human thought began. Taken together, as Harrison shows, this unlikely group of thinkers sheds new light on the emergence of the concept of consciousness and the significance of human natality to central questions in the fields of literature, philosophy, and the history of science.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

"The idea that Eden was a place of discovery from the start is also the motivating insight of Harrison’s Coming To. Before Milton’s time, Harrison argues, 'consciousness' was a moral faculty, interchangeable with what God in book 3 of Paradise Lost calls 'my umpire conscience,' 'place[d] within' fallen humanity 'as a guide.' . . . Milton’s—and Harrison’s—minute attention to the fashioning of each blank verse line pays off in startling insights into the texture of what Milton’s contemporaries were just beginning to call consciousness." – Catherine Nicholson, New York Review of Books

"Joining a growing wave of scientifically minded studies of Renaissance literature, Harrison finds real conceptual work in literature. As the shadow of STEM looms over the humanities, Harrison’s book is a timely reminder that literary scholarship can historically analyse scientific concepts without sacrificing its distinctive concerns for value and form. In fact, he shows the mimetic, particularizing character of literature to be a prerequisite for consciousness to emerge at all. . . . Coming To is a signal contribution to Milton studies and perhaps a watershed in the history of ideas."

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780226725123

Publisher: The University of Chicago Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 22 September 2020

Country: United States

Imprint: University of Chicago Press

Illustration: 2 tables

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 23.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 481g

Pages: 328

About the Author

Timothy M. Harrison is assistant professor of English at the University of Chicago.

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