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The Wakeful World: Animism, Mind and the Self in Nature
Over the past few hundred years, animism has been dismissed as a primitive, naive and irrational perspective, irrelevant within the civilised West. In The Wakeful World, Emma Restall Orr argues that this is based on the misrepresentation, drawn in crayon, that each tree and stone has its own Christian-like immortal soul. Taking the reader on a philosophical adventure, Restall Orr explores the heritage of Western thought with precision, enthusiasm and sensitivity, considering how soul, spirit, mind and consciousness have been understood through millennia. Challenging the prevailing worldviews of materialism and dualism, she presents animism as a radically different, yet mature and coherent philosophy. Providing deep green ethics with a wholly rational metaphysical foundation, The Wakeful World is a compelling view of the nature of existence and the experience of reality, giving solid ground for the now necessary journey to a sustainable world. This original and lively book brings back animism - a most useful range of ideas which reductivists have somewhat wildly abandoned during the last century - into focus once more just when it is badly needed to cure current confusions about mind and body - Dr Mary Midgley, Moral Philosopher"
313 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 26, 2012
46 people are currently reading
634 people want to read
About the author
Emma Restall Orr
20 books69 followers[from Wikipedia] -- Emma Restall Orr is a British neo-druid, animist, priest, poet and author. She worked for the Order of Bards Ovates and Druids in the early 1990s, becoming an Ovate tutor. In 1993 she became joint chief of the British Druid Order (BDO) staying until 2002. Together with the Order founder Philip Shallcrass, she developed the BDO into one of the largest and most influential of its time. Feeling the system of Orders too limiting, in 2002 she created The Druid Network, which was officially launched at Imbolc 2003.
Since the late 1990s she has organized the largest annual gatherings of Druids and those interested in Druidry, first at The Awen Camp with Philip Shallcrass, then since 2001 The Druid Camp with Mark Graham. In 2004 she founded Honouring the Ancient Dead. Since 2004, she has been involved with PEBBLE (The Public Bodies Liaison Committee for British Paganisms) encouraging positive and productive interaction between modern British Pagan groups and British government departments, and other institutions.
Over the course of her life in Druidry she has been on numerous television and radio programmes in Britain and around the world, featured and quoted in the print media and on the internet.
She is daughter of Robin Restall, renowned ornithologist, writer and artist. Her brother is Matthew Restall, history professor and writer.
Since the late 1990s she has organized the largest annual gatherings of Druids and those interested in Druidry, first at The Awen Camp with Philip Shallcrass, then since 2001 The Druid Camp with Mark Graham. In 2004 she founded Honouring the Ancient Dead. Since 2004, she has been involved with PEBBLE (The Public Bodies Liaison Committee for British Paganisms) encouraging positive and productive interaction between modern British Pagan groups and British government departments, and other institutions.
Over the course of her life in Druidry she has been on numerous television and radio programmes in Britain and around the world, featured and quoted in the print media and on the internet.
She is daughter of Robin Restall, renowned ornithologist, writer and artist. Her brother is Matthew Restall, history professor and writer.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
December 14, 2013
Restall-Orr has written a very comprehensive look at Animism with this particular book. To be completely honest, much of the vocabulary left me scratching my head and lunging for my dictionary. While not a sure-fire recipe for readability with me, this was not a bad thing for me. I enjoy books that allow me to stretch my own home recipe for words and knowledge. However, there were a few other factors that also brought me to my knees in terms of erudition. The first six chapters of the book lean heavily in knowledge fields I have very little desire to delve deeply into. Thus my depth of understanding was limited in terms of conceptual information, as well as a feeling for the raison d'etre of the severe quotations utilized to illustrate points. Psychology and Philosophy are simple two areas of the scholastic environment that interest me very little.
Leaving that aside, once Restall-Orr starts to get into the meat of the idea of Animism in the final three chapters - I began to see the lights of brilliance on the subject. To borrow two quotes from the book:
"So, in his practice of learning and reverence, the animist will acknowledge the spirits of a place, the spirits of a river, of fire and storm, the spirits of a tribe, of motherhood, of the dead, the spirits of a gathering, of an event in time, and so on. In doing so he is reaching to perceive those fleeting patterns that, so filled with energy and potentiality, are the essential moments flowing into moments, the raw creativity that manifests each form, saturating each experience. Awake to that perception, he is aspiring to play an active and respectful part in the creative process of life, even if only through gratitude, awe and devotion. In his practice, the animist will also acknowledge the soul, reaching here to catch a glimpse of what is the summation of all that has been."
"...the song is the expression of the moment as it unfolds, our soul riding the current of the spirits whose perpetual motion is our becoming. The Songs of being are the music of presence. The song is what we express and celebrate in every moment of our living."
It is passages such as these two that literally bring her points to Life. Beautifully evocative, intellectually provocative, Restall-Orr shows that there is true wonder in every moment that we have. That there is life in every breath. That there is awareness in everything - we may not be able to define some aspects of that awareness, but there is a unity of community in the creation of everything.
Leaving that aside, once Restall-Orr starts to get into the meat of the idea of Animism in the final three chapters - I began to see the lights of brilliance on the subject. To borrow two quotes from the book:
"So, in his practice of learning and reverence, the animist will acknowledge the spirits of a place, the spirits of a river, of fire and storm, the spirits of a tribe, of motherhood, of the dead, the spirits of a gathering, of an event in time, and so on. In doing so he is reaching to perceive those fleeting patterns that, so filled with energy and potentiality, are the essential moments flowing into moments, the raw creativity that manifests each form, saturating each experience. Awake to that perception, he is aspiring to play an active and respectful part in the creative process of life, even if only through gratitude, awe and devotion. In his practice, the animist will also acknowledge the soul, reaching here to catch a glimpse of what is the summation of all that has been."
"...the song is the expression of the moment as it unfolds, our soul riding the current of the spirits whose perpetual motion is our becoming. The Songs of being are the music of presence. The song is what we express and celebrate in every moment of our living."
It is passages such as these two that literally bring her points to Life. Beautifully evocative, intellectually provocative, Restall-Orr shows that there is true wonder in every moment that we have. That there is life in every breath. That there is awareness in everything - we may not be able to define some aspects of that awareness, but there is a unity of community in the creation of everything.
February 3, 2023
Undoubtedly the most important book I've read this year (and possibly last). I mentioned part of the way through reading this how I had first become aware of this book back in 2015 during a time of spiritual deconstruction. In that period, her opening words clearly articulated my stance:
This book is a landmark in a quiet, self assured way. I wonder if 6 years ago I would have been able to fully take in the rest of this work. In some ways, I am glad that it took years before I circled back; more fully in love with uncertainty and more capable of releasing my internal locus, this book sang from end to end. Emma Rostell Orr has not only imparted a clear and meticulously argued animist philosophy; she has also used the "poetry of animism" to start the deep work of conveying the deeper, sweeter waters of her tradition.
Orr took impressions and half-thoughts that have haunted my footsteps for nearly a decade - those of legacy, memory, and what we impart; of the fundamental interrelationship of us and the world; of the power that hums in and through and comprises all things - and gives it shape. This book may feel slow at the beginning, but Orr's steady build is necessary. As stated above, there are so many assumptions tied up in the language we use to grapple with metaphysical, ethical, and philosophical questions that each must be examined, deconstructed, and clearly delineated before we can move together into the weeds.
A shared foundation of meaning and agreed-upon definitions is needed. This is especially true when touching something like animism, which has an unfortunate connotation of New Age-y ephemeral platitudes one finds peddled by modern magic shops. Orr's work is far from this. This is academically rigorous, solidly proofed, and brimming with life. Her philosophy taps into an ancient root that is capable of asking and answering questions of Consciousness, the Self, Mind and Body, and free will in ways more personally satisfying than many other competing worldviews.
There is a fundamental reverence imbued in these pages, and its argument - if you resonate with it as I have - leaves with no choice but to radically alter your movement through the world. This book extends the tzelem Elohim - the image of G-d in the face of each human - to each animal, each tree, each stone and raindrop; to the sunrise and the spinning galaxy. There is so much here that resonates so powerfully with me that I could go on forever. As a introduction to mature Western animistic thought, this is a must-read. 5 well-earned stars.
An essential part of a philosopher's work is to root out assumptions, and tear them apart. For in seeking answers to those questions that sit on the very edge of language, on the edge of what it is thought possible to understand, it is our assumptions that are often the greatest obstacle in our thinking.
This book is a landmark in a quiet, self assured way. I wonder if 6 years ago I would have been able to fully take in the rest of this work. In some ways, I am glad that it took years before I circled back; more fully in love with uncertainty and more capable of releasing my internal locus, this book sang from end to end. Emma Rostell Orr has not only imparted a clear and meticulously argued animist philosophy; she has also used the "poetry of animism" to start the deep work of conveying the deeper, sweeter waters of her tradition.
Orr took impressions and half-thoughts that have haunted my footsteps for nearly a decade - those of legacy, memory, and what we impart; of the fundamental interrelationship of us and the world; of the power that hums in and through and comprises all things - and gives it shape. This book may feel slow at the beginning, but Orr's steady build is necessary. As stated above, there are so many assumptions tied up in the language we use to grapple with metaphysical, ethical, and philosophical questions that each must be examined, deconstructed, and clearly delineated before we can move together into the weeds.
A shared foundation of meaning and agreed-upon definitions is needed. This is especially true when touching something like animism, which has an unfortunate connotation of New Age-y ephemeral platitudes one finds peddled by modern magic shops. Orr's work is far from this. This is academically rigorous, solidly proofed, and brimming with life. Her philosophy taps into an ancient root that is capable of asking and answering questions of Consciousness, the Self, Mind and Body, and free will in ways more personally satisfying than many other competing worldviews.
There is a fundamental reverence imbued in these pages, and its argument - if you resonate with it as I have - leaves with no choice but to radically alter your movement through the world. This book extends the tzelem Elohim - the image of G-d in the face of each human - to each animal, each tree, each stone and raindrop; to the sunrise and the spinning galaxy. There is so much here that resonates so powerfully with me that I could go on forever. As a introduction to mature Western animistic thought, this is a must-read. 5 well-earned stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2013
In its own quiet way, this is a bit of a game changer. It certainly came along at the right moment. I wrote more about both moment and book here: http://dadwhowrites.wordpress.com/201...
April 26, 2021
I am an animist. This was a great work of philosophy with a deep bibliography utilizing various disciplines. This book put into words what I imagine an egoless enthiogenic trip to embody; and therefore a suitable worldview for the present. I will be revisiting this one after digesting some of the source literature. This will likely be my book of the year, but we’ll see.
July 10, 2017
This book is really important. Orr has done a big service of writing in detail the Western animist worldview and it with philosophical precedents or schools of thought that led to it. There's a good deal of philosophical history of ontology and history of words related to the subject, such as : soul, spirit, self, nature , consciousness. You need a clear mind to read it, and follow her path of reasoning.
She points out well the problems of materialism, and the problem of linking the mind and matter.
I think I need to return to this book again. If I understand, does it mean that I accept her view? Anyway, what is the most important conclusion , is that nature matters. and I'm looking forward to read her book about values of the animists: 'Living with Honor. Oh, in between there's beautiful descriptions of experiencing nature
She points out well the problems of materialism, and the problem of linking the mind and matter.
I think I need to return to this book again. If I understand, does it mean that I accept her view? Anyway, what is the most important conclusion , is that nature matters. and I'm looking forward to read her book about values of the animists: 'Living with Honor. Oh, in between there's beautiful descriptions of experiencing nature
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October 26, 2015 Taken from the Forward to The Wakeful World. I think the quote illustrates something of the shift here from previous books - the tone is very different (I thought) from much of Emma Restall Orr's previous writing - there are more academic tones in the mix, and there's less of the experiential material that dominated previously. Instead, she adopts a more theoretical and philosophical approach to considering Paganism.
December 13, 2018
This book can be a hard slog in the sense that it deals with the subject of animism in an academic format. If you are looking for a book about animism written for a popular audience, this is not it. However, if you are looking for a deep dive into the the@logy of animism in the context of modern Western society with references to British and European the@logists and philosphers , this book is excellent.
I have returned to the book several times, and each time I feel that I process a bit more of the ideas inside.
I have returned to the book several times, and each time I feel that I process a bit more of the ideas inside.
October 30, 2021
Little to say in many words.
The whole book felt like a long introduction that never actually got anywhere. No real guidance on the principles or practices of Animism.
The whole book felt like a long introduction that never actually got anywhere. No real guidance on the principles or practices of Animism.
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July 23, 2022i enjoyed this book. it asked many of the same questions i am in the process of asking, though it has answers where i only find gaps.
however, i do believe in the '''revolutionary''' tactic of ignoring things to make them go away. this does not work with everything, of course. but it does seem to work very well for analytic philosophy. so why devote so much of your written project to responding to their quibbles and minutiae? is there something valuable to be gained in responding in these arenas? only when responding in poetry, which emma restall orr does well. but perhaps too infrequently, and not sufficiently systematically; the text accumulates much blank, desolate argumentation by its conclusion.
however, i do believe in the '''revolutionary''' tactic of ignoring things to make them go away. this does not work with everything, of course. but it does seem to work very well for analytic philosophy. so why devote so much of your written project to responding to their quibbles and minutiae? is there something valuable to be gained in responding in these arenas? only when responding in poetry, which emma restall orr does well. but perhaps too infrequently, and not sufficiently systematically; the text accumulates much blank, desolate argumentation by its conclusion.
October 28, 2024
This is written from a brain standpoint not a heart-based one
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March 26, 2014(Caveat: I gave up on this two thirds of the way through.)
I quite like the idea of panpsychism; it's always attractive when there's a troublesome shiftable boundary between two things and someone comes along and says, 'We don't need to draw this boundary. Maybe a jaffa cake can be a cake and a biscuit at the same time.' But when the boundary is between things with minds and things without minds, you need to explain things exceptionally well and exceptionally carefully. And sadly the language in this book is clunky. It's a real shame as Orr recognises the importance of writing well on this topic - she tries to build her argument on precise definitions of words, and continually praises the eloquence of other writers. But by the time I'd finally got to the section in which she outlines her ideas of what animism is, I'd lost any idea of what she was on about.
Still, more writers should open with 'Before opening the gate and bidding the reader stride on into the wordscape of this book...'
I quite like the idea of panpsychism; it's always attractive when there's a troublesome shiftable boundary between two things and someone comes along and says, 'We don't need to draw this boundary. Maybe a jaffa cake can be a cake and a biscuit at the same time.' But when the boundary is between things with minds and things without minds, you need to explain things exceptionally well and exceptionally carefully. And sadly the language in this book is clunky. It's a real shame as Orr recognises the importance of writing well on this topic - she tries to build her argument on precise definitions of words, and continually praises the eloquence of other writers. But by the time I'd finally got to the section in which she outlines her ideas of what animism is, I'd lost any idea of what she was on about.
Still, more writers should open with 'Before opening the gate and bidding the reader stride on into the wordscape of this book...'
March 12, 2021
This book is an explanation of an animist understanding of the world for a society uncomfortable with and confused by such worldviews. It is also an excellent work of philosophy, comparing the perspectives of centuries' worth of thinkers on what the mind is and the implications of each model. And, especially in the later chapters, the book becomes very poetic and beautiful to read as well. While the book is heavily Eurocentric, it provides a good foundation for exploring animism.
December 23, 2012
Emma Restall Orr explores the subject of Animism using examples from Western Culture that we can all relate to. Restall Orr takes us on a romp through history to look at the opinions of great philosophers such as Socrates and Aristotle, to name a couple. A very thought provoking and insightful piece of work
April 9, 2017
No, I haven't gone all woo. But in my continuing exploration of Speculative Materialism I came to the conclusion that the philosophy shares much with the animist outlook, even though it is, like myself, materialist in ideas. This book helped me clarify how to treat animism as a philosophical perspective as well as what it shares with speculative materialism-and also what it does not.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews