William Martin

Dance of the Animal Spirit Through History William Martin

DANCE OF THE ANIMAL SPIRIT THROUGH HISTORY is three things. Firstly, it takes us on a journey, following the ancient idea of the Animal Spirit (Pneuma) through the history of Western Civilization. Secondly, the book focuses on a crisis the Animal Spirit endured in the late 19th century by using cross disciplinary methodology to explore and compare four seminal works from that period: Freud's "Studies In Hysteria", Nietzsche's "Beyond Good And Evil: The Birth Of Tragedy From The Spirit Of Music", Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jeckyl And Mr. Hyde", and D. H. Lawrence's, "Lady Chatterly's Lover". All four books tell the same story, of the imprisoned Animal Spirit struggling to break free. Thirdly, the book concludes by using all that has come before to illuminate the Soul Journey of Gay Men during the AIDS years.