The Virtues of Disillusionment
- Publisher
- Athabasca University Press
- Initial publish date
- Sep 2020
- Category
- Social
- Recommended Age
- 18
- Recommended Grade
- 12
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781771993241
- Publish Date
- Sep 2020
- List Price
- $19.99
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781771993265
- Publish Date
- Sep 2020
- List Price
- $19.99
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
Most people go through life chasing illusions of success, fame, wealth, happiness, and few things are more painful than the reality-revealing loss of an illusion. But if illusions are negative, why is the opposite, being disillusioned, also negative? In this essay based on his inaugural writer-in-residence lecture at Athabasca University, internationally acclaimed writer Steven Heighton mathematically evaluates the paradox of disillusionment and the negative aspects of hope. Drawing on writers such as Herman Melville, Leonard Cohen, Kate Chopin, and Thich Nhat Hanh, Heighton considers the influence of illusions on creativity, art, and society. This meditation on language and philosophy reveals the virtues of being disillusioned and, perhaps, the path to freedom.
