Soul: An Archaeology : Readings from Socrates to Ray Charles - Hardcover

What does soul mean? Is it, as in Aristotle's classic definition, the "life-giving principle"? Is it the shiver up your spine when Aretha Franklin sings the blues? Or is it the simple, breathtaking beauty of a Pablo Neruda poem?
Soul defies definition, yet it surrounds us, permeating every aspect of our lives and culture - from art, music, and literature to religion, society, and identity. Long fascinated by the conundrum of the soul, author Phil Cousineau set out to follow its elusive trail by collecting the voices of those who have, since ancient times, sought their own understanding of the "inner universe."
Scanning "history's long bookshelf," Cousineau harvested a rich collection of writings that trace the evolving definition of soul, from an ancient Sufi master's eternal question to a reflection on soul food, which somehow makes you feel "that all's right with the world." A captivating "soul reader," Soul offers a spectacular range of stories, essays, poems, myths, and songs that sample the ways in which soul has been expressed through the ages and explores its myriad dimensions - philosophical, spiritual, theological, and even alchemical.
Arranged in seven sections mirroring the "spiraling path of the soul," Soul traces The Fall of the Soul into Time, The Seat of the Soul, Heart and Soul, Soul Crisis, Soul Work, The World Soul, and Soul and Destiny.
Selections include writings from such literary and historical luminaries as Carl Jung, James Joyce, Willa Cather, Thomas Aquinas, Susan Griffin, Tracy Kidder, St. Teresa of Avila, Raymond Carver, Jack Kerouac, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Alice Walker, Milan Kundera, Albert Schweitzer, T. S. Eliot, Wassily Kandinsky, Thomas Moore, and many, many more.