Forbidden Knowledge: From Prometheus to Pornography"Hailed from coast to coast as an extraordinary and provocative work and compared with the best of Harold Bloom, Joseph Campbell, and Lewis Thomas, Forbidden Knowledge explores two of today's most important moral issues: the explosion of scientific knowledge and the problem of pornography as represented by the recent rehabilitation of the Marquis de Sade. In a compelling synthesis of history and literature, Shattuck challenges the meaning of moral responsibility in our daily life, providing a landmark history of Western culture that will dazzle the reader."--Cover. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - neurodrew - LibraryThingShattuck is an English professor with an interesting critical review of knowledge that should remain hidden, including criticism of the fashion for De Sade, and of recent episodes in genetics. Read full review
LibraryThing Review
User Review - TheBentley - LibraryThingShattuck's only effective argument in this considerably over-written scholarly study is his argument that violent pornography correlates strongly with sexually sadistic serial killers (although he ... Read full review
Contents
FOREWORD | 1 |
The FAR SIDE OF CURIOSITY | 13 |
From Taboo to Science | 27 |
Skepticism Agnosticism Ignorabimus | 33 |
Lust of the Soul | 44 |
Miltons Version | 55 |
Of knowledge within bounds | 62 |
The Downward Path to Wisdom | 71 |
Knowledge as Interference | 159 |
TAKING STOCK | 165 |
SCIENCE | 173 |
Five Cases | 183 |
The Condition of Ambivalence | 217 |
The Divine MARQUIS | 227 |
Rehabilitating a Prophet | 236 |
The Moors Murders Case | 256 |
FAUST AND FRANKENSTEIN | 77 |
Scenes from Faust | 86 |
Scenes from Frankenstein | 93 |
The Principle of Excess | 100 |
MME | 109 |
Aestheticism in Emily Dickinson | 121 |
An Epicurean at The Banquet of Abstemiousness | 131 |
GUILT JUSTICE AND EMPATHY | 137 |
Comparing Two Specimens | 144 |
Understanding Blaming Forgiving Pardoning | 151 |
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Common terms and phrases
action Adam answer appears approach become behavior believe Billy called Camus carries century Chapter claims close comes concerns crime curiosity death described discussion earlier effect evil existence experience face fall Faust feelings figure final forbidden knowledge four genetic human ideas ignorance imagination individual kind later leads learned letter limits lines lives look Lord Lost means Milton mind moral murder narrative nature never novel offers opening original person philosophical play poem present principle question reach readers reason refers remains represent response reveal Sade Sade's scene scientific scientists seek sense sexual social society story suggests tell things tion tradition truth turn understand universe violence writings
References to this book
Bibliographic information
| Title | Forbidden Knowledge: From Prometheus to Pornography Harvest book |
| Author | Roger Shattuck |
| Edition | reprint |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1997 |
| ISBN | 0156005514, 9780156005517 |
| Length | 369 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |