Books in Brief: Out of the Labyrinth: Essays in Clarification

Out of the Labyrinth: Essays in Clarification, by Erich Kahler (Braziller, $6.00). Here is yet another one of those tedious collections of exigent prose that intellectuals are forever gathering together under some grandiose title. By definition, these works are omnifarious, usually containing the author’s ruminations on just about every topic under the sun. Erich Kahler’s latest book, while erudite and civilized, is no exception to the general rule. Scholarly impedimenta to the contrary, Out of the Labyrinth is nothing more than an anthology of miscellaneous essays on art, history, science, utopia, myth, and culture. This assertion is denied by Kahler, who argues that the unifying aim of the book “is to establish the meaning of certain basic concepts that have developed in the course of human evolution, and to examine in what respect they may still be valid in our present circumstances.” In other words, the book’s unity lies in its miscellaneousness; for just about everything falls under the purview of “the course of human evolution.” This is not to say that the book is devoid of interest. There are several excellent essays; and if the reader is prepared to put up with a certain amount of dogmatism he will not go away totally empty-handed. The essays on “Culture and Evolution,” “Science and History,” and “The Reality of Utopia” are of particular interest, while those devoted to art and symbolism leave a great deal to be desired.

PW

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P. P. Witonski

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Out of the Labyrinth: Essays in Clarification, by Erich Kahler (Braziller, $6.00). Here is yet another one of those tedious collections of exigent prose that intellectuals are forever gathering together under some grandiose title. By definition, these works are omnifarious, usually containing the author’s ruminations on just about every topic under the sun. Erich Kahler’s latest book, while erudite and civilized, is no exception to the general rule. Scholarly impedimenta to the contrary, Out of the Labyrinth is nothing more than an anthology of miscellaneous essays on art, history, science, utopia, myth, and culture. This assertion is denied by Kahler, who argues that the unifying aim of the book “is to establish the meaning of certain basic concepts that have developed in the course of human evolution, and to examine in what respect they may still be valid in our present circumstances.” In other words, the book’s unity lies in its miscellaneousness; for just about everything falls under the purview of “the course of human evolution.” This is not to say that the book is devoid of interest. There are several excellent essays; and if the reader is prepared to put up with a certain amount of dogmatism he will not go away totally empty-handed. The essays on “Culture and Evolution,” “Science and History,” and “The Reality of Utopia” are of particular interest, while those devoted to art and symbolism leave a great deal to be desired.