Wandering God: A Study in Nomadic Spirituality

If you know Dr. Berman by way of The Twilight of American Culture, hit the reset button, for this is a far different animal. This book is his masterpiece, and is a work of comparative anthropology. The thesis here is far too complex for summary, but suffice to say that it is forcefully argued and thoroughly researched. I imagine that this work is less popular with academic philosophers, psychologists, and anthropologists than it perhaps should be for several subjective reasons. Its central argument is based on Freud's concept of the self, which has become deeply unfashionable in recent years. Also, Berman offers an iconoclastic interpretation of Wittgenstein that steps on the toes of quite a few important philosophical thinkers. You'll also find elements of Camus' concept of absurdity and William James' pragmatism (i.e. truth, independent of empirical evidence, is what "works" rather than what "is"), though I don't believe the similarities are intentional. The author has a tendency to bend the evidence to his conclusions and can, at times, piece elements of others' works into a collage of quotations and statements that appears to offer little original thought, but those cases are exceptional rather than the rule.Dr. Berman has written an enormously important history of human hierarchy that all subsequent writers have taken for granted.Basically, Dr. Berman believes that human discovery of a "self," rather than simply as as physical entity, introduced hierarchy into civilization. All religion today is based on a hierarchy, spiritual to earthly. Is this just an accident? How did civilization, and its promotion of sedentary life, contribute to a social hierarchy that dominates our culture today, worldwide?You'll have to fight yourself with Dr. Berman's arrogance, because he is quite sure of his conclusions. If you agree, you'll think he's a modern-day prophet. If you disagree, or if you think Dr. Berman's colloquial arguments lack depth, you'll find much to criticize.All in all, it's difficult to come away from this book unconvinced. It's difficult to read it and not think that Dr. Berman has his fingers (and mind) on the truth, as much as it may offend.

I was really looking forward to reading this book since I loved Coming to Our Senses and The Re-enchantment of the World. So when so many who reviewed this one called it the best of the trilogy I was eager to get it. Sadly,. I got bogged down in the first few chapters because it seemed to me that Berman kept setting up straw dogs to argue against to prove his theory when I felt its was not necessary to take so many detours to do so especially since some of the theories Berman used were what I felt to be a misreading of others' works. For me he weakened his case rather than made it. His other works had an organic style that did not seem so occupied with proof and were much more accessible to "try on:" and let settle in as it were. I had to put this one down for awhile and will see if I can get back into it later. As usual he had some interesting ideas that were simple and striking so I am hoping that in later chapters he develops them in his own words and style which were quite compelling in the first two books in this trilogy.

Morris Berman has had a profound effect on my thinking during the past decade. "Wandering God," I've concluded, after long deliberation, is my favorite of all of his books. I shied away from it at first because of my aversion to books with the word spirituality in the title. The term is used so often and in so many ways that I'm never certain what it means. I should have know better in Berman's case. This is a fascinating read, and it raises questions about the history of consciousness which should have been aired decades ago, were it not for the tendency of scholarship to converge into group-think. One thing for sure, Berman is always out in front, ahead of the group. His complete confidence and maturity of thought enables him to lay out paragraph after paragraph of serious thought and then wrap it up with a personal statement that shows he respects the reader more than the institutions that rein over serious subject matter. If you want to read something that will give you food for thought for years to come, read "Wandering God."

This is by far Dr Berman's best book. His intellectual maturity really shows. I would call it a combination of philosophy and archeology. If you're someone who's interested in Nietzsche, Jung, Campbell, Aristotle, Plato, Wittgenstein, you need to read this book. If you don't know any of those names, don't worry, Dr will be as good an introduction to them as anyone can ask for. Shortly put, this and "Coming to Our Senses" also by Dr Berman are the most important books I've ever read.

Morris Berman's masterful book, Wandering God, argues that humakind lost its way once agriculture and sedentary life styles set in. Even though humans have the same brains and bodies that characterized their prehistoric ancestors, they worship a vertical god (in the "heavens") and arrange their societies in vertical hierarchies. Berman touts the advantages of horizontal, egalitatarian relationships and spiritual practices, even though it necessitates living in the paradoxes that come with self-awareness. Although he depends too much on the Freudian notion of "infantile attachment" to make his case, Berman's message is provocative and visionary.

really enjoying his thesis AND his very clear writing! Super fun thought-provoking ideas and great editing so the book is in fact very readable!! Perhaps I'm mistaken, but i think he has come up with a lot of very original (and well documented in the HUGE bibliography) ideas that rock our understanding of paleohumans. loving it!

One of the most compelling books I have ever read.

I bought this book thinking it was something else. I was unaware of Morris Berman as a writer.This book is a constructed argument for a politico-economic standpoint, not an overview of nomadic spiritual belief systems.