Spirituality of Awe (Revised Edition) - by Kirk J Schneider (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

The robotic revolution is here and there's no going back. From the way we raise our children, to our work settings, to our governments, and even our wars, the quick fix-instant result society is roiling our world. Yet what is lost in this delirium is depth, the awesomeness, not just of our machines, but of our flesh, our capacity to feel, and our capacity to dwell in the miracle of the unknown. This book dwells in the miracle of the unknown. It is an intimate trek into the evolving spirituality of awe--the humility and wonder; sense of adventure toward life. Can we preserve awe--the arguable "heart" of humanity--in spite of and even in light of our technologies? Or will we devolve into mechanically driven puppets, numb to our possibilities, blind to our servitude? There is no more critical problem for our age."

Review Quotes

Schneider has produced a... work of passion, insight, advocacy, and public vision on perhaps the most important social topic of our time. Furthermore, it comes in a very readable package of short, digestible chapters, ideally suited for discussion in classrooms, book groups, and other platforms of learning. Like the work of our best public intellectuals, it is a scholarly treatise in which the scholarship supports the message without interfering with or obscuring the topic at hand. Daniel Leichty, PhD, Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare

Kirk Schneider's [The Spirituality of Awe is a] provocative exploration of the dangers we face in an increasingly mechanized world.... Although clearly a...warning of serious moral, spiritual, and social danger, the book does not simply content itself with identifying problems and hand-wringing. Schneider provides a number of urgent rec-ommendations for responding thoughtfully and forcefully to the robotic revolution in ways that seek to maintain our humanity, our agency, and sense of spiritual awe in the face of ever-growing threats from reductionist science, consumerism, and materialist social philosophies. Edwin Gant, Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology

The Spirituality of awe is a new take on the 'remorselessness of technology encroaching on our most intimate spaces.' It is a fast paced, easy-read dash through our technological future with the impending dangers of transhumanism at its core. In the end, as we enter the age of robotics, we are given the human choice to decide if we want an awe-inspiring dawn or a dehumanizing nightmare. Buy it. Read it. It is original." Noel Sharkey, PhD, DSc, Emeritus Professor of AI and Robotics, Sheffield University, UK, Judge BBC television's Robot Wars and Director of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics

Schneider's 'depth psychology' approach casts new light on a classic dilemma in AI's inevitable march--bringing us all the promise and peril that science fiction writers have warned about for centuries. Mike Boland, Chief Analyst, ARtilliry, former reporter, Forbes

In a world where many feel dehumanized and devalued, we need courage and clarity to widen our perspective and find new purpose. In this book Kirk Schneider offers a sensitive and incisive new narrative to help us reconsider what our lives are about today. He gathers wisdom from his long experience, and freely combines this with the insights of psychology, psychotherapy, philosophy, sociology, religion, literature and cinema to create a new vision of where we are heading and how we may change direction before it is too late. Fascinating and essential reading for therapists and lay readers alike. Prof Emmy van Deurzen, PhD, Principal of the New School for Psychotherapy and Counseling, UK; author of Existential Psychotherapy and Counselling in Practice and Psychotherapy and the Quest for Happiness

A cogent plea to neither reject nor embrace technology, but to try instead to look beyond it. Kirkus Reviews, Featured Review

An evocative and deeply human take on the coming AI and robotics age. You must read it. Gina Smith, PhD, Award-winning author of The Genomics Age and the NYT bestseller, iWOZ: How I Invented the Personal Computer