Senses of Mystery

<p>In this beautifully written book, David E. Cooper uses a gentle walk through a tropical garden – the view of the fields and hills beyond it, the sound of birds, voices and flutes, the reflection of light in water, the play of shadows among the trees and the presence of strange animals – as an opportunity to reflect on experiences of nature and the mystery of existence.</p><p>Covering an extensive range of topics, from Daoism to dogs, from gardening to walking, from Zen to Debussy, Cooper succeeds in conveying some deep and difficult philosophical ideas about the meaning of life in an engaging manner, showing how those ideas bear upon the practical question of how we should relate to our world and live our lives.</p><p>A thought-provoking and compelling book, <i>Senses of Mystery</i> is a triumph of both storytelling and philosophy.</p> <p>Acknowledgements</p><p>1. <b>In a Garden</b></p><p>2. <b>The Truth of Mystery</b></p><p>Ineffability</p><p>The Scientific Image</p><p>The World as Fiction?</p><p>The World as Gift</p><p>3. <b>Religion, Nature and Mystery</b></p><p>Religion, Faith and Mystery</p><p>‘Nothing Special’</p><p>Senses of Mystery</p><p>Nature and Culture</p><p>4. <b>Animals</b></p><p>Animal Worlds</p><p>The Opacity of Animals</p><p>Animals, Mystery and World</p><p>Animals and ‘The Open’</p><p>5. <b>Music</b></p><p>Music and Experience</p><p>Music and Nature</p><p>Music, Culture, Environment</p><p>Music and the Mystery of Emergence</p><p>6. <b>Walking</b></p><p>Meditation on the Move</p><p>Body, Mind and Involvement</p><p>Communion and Holism</p><p>Walking and Senses of Mystery</p><p>7. <b>Gardening</b></p><p>The Way of the Garden</p><p>Gardens and Meaning</p><p>‘In the Head’ and ‘In the Hands’</p><p>Garden, ‘Gift’, Mystery</p><p>8. <b>Living with Mystery</b></p><p>Ethics</p><p>Removing Obstacles</p><p>Humility and Compassion</p><p>Emulation</p><p>9. <b>In a Garden Again</b></p><p>Index </p>