TY - BOOK AU - Shlain,Leonard TI - The alphabet versus the goddess: the conflict between word and image SN - 0670878839 AV - P211.7 .S57 1998 U1 - 302.2244 SH.A 1999 21 PY - 1999/// CY - [London] PB - Penguin, Compass KW - Written communication KW - Social aspects KW - Literacy KW - Alphabet KW - History KW - Language and culture KW - Patriarchy KW - Misogyny KW - fast N1 - Includes bibliographical references (pages 445-453) and index; 1. Image/Word -- 2. Hunters/Gatherers -- 3. Right Brain/Left Brain -- 4. Males: Death/Females: Life -- 5. Nonverbal/Verbal -- 6. Cuneiform/Marduk -- 7. Hieroglyphs/Isis -- 8. Aleph/Bet -- 9. Hebrews/Israelites -- 10. Abraham/Moses -- 11. Thera/Matzah -- 12. Adam/Eve -- 13. Cadmus/Alpha -- 14. Sappho/Ganymede -- 15. Dionysus/Apollo -- 16. Athens/Sparta -- 17. Lingam/Yoni -- 18. Birth/Death -- 19. Yin/Yang -- 20. Taoism/Confucianism -- 21. B.C./A.D. -- 22. Jesus/Christ -- 23. Death/Rebirth -- 24. Patriarchs/Heretics -- 25. Reason/Madness -- 26. Illiteracy/Celibacy, 500-1000 -- 27. Muslin Veils/Muslim Words -- 28. Mystic/Scholastic, 1000-1300 -- 29. Humanist/Egoist, 1300-1500 -- 30. Protestant/Catholic -- 31. Faith/Hate -- 32. Sorcery/Science -- 33. Positive/Negative, 1648-1899 -- 34. ID/Superego, 1900-1945 -- 35. Page/Screen, 1945-2000 N2 - This groundbreaking book proposes that the rise of alphabetic literacy reconfigured the human brain and brought about profound changes in history, religion, and gender relations. Making remarkable connections across brain function, myth, and anthropology, Dr. Shlain shows why pre-literate cultures were principally informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess, images, and feminine values. Writing drove cultures toward linear left-brain thinking and this shift upset the balance between men and women, initiating the decline of the feminine and ushering in patriarchal rule. Examining the cultures of the Israelites, Greeks, Christians, and Muslims, Shlain reinterprets ancient myths and parables in light of his theory. Provocative and inspiring, this book is a paradigm-shattering work that will transform your view of history and the mind ER -