The Labyrinth in Culture and Society: Pathways to Wisdom

Attali offers a historical analysis of how we elected, over the centuries, to rid ourselves of the indirect path for the supposed superiority of the straight line. We moved from the meandering to the linear, from the complex to the singular, from the curved and sensual to the straight and narrow. Consequently our thinking became shallow and unable to grasp the depth of meaning the labyrinthine symbolic world held for us. Now, as we enter the twenty-first century, the daedal depth of wisdom is recapturing our imaginations. The complex patterns enfolded with these ancient designs are calling us to reclaim the lost and forgotten parts of ourselves.