The Spiritual Quest: Transcendence in Myth, Religion, and Science

The Spiritual Quest is scholar Robert Torrance's elaboration of his theory that the impulse to seek higher spiritual levels is intrinsic to human nature, and is even the defining component of humanity. Drawing on shamanic traditions around the world, he counters strict materialist notions of human nature with sophisticated arguments from anthropology, philosophy, and linguistics. Poet Gary Snyder calls it a "marvelous view."