In this book the author takes an unusual multi-disciplinary approach to debates about contemporary art and poetry, ideas about the mind and its representations, and theories of knowledge and being. Arts practices are considered as enactments of mind and as transformative modes of consciousness. Ideas drawn from poetics, philosophy and consciousness studies are used to illuminate the conceptual and aesthetic frameworks of a diverse array of visual artists. Themes explored include: the interconnectedness of existence; art as a way of interrogating appearances; identity and otherness; art and...

Through an analysis of many different examples, Danvers articulates a new way of thinking about mysticism and scepticism, not as opposite poles of the philosophical spectrum, but as two fields of enquiry with overlapping aims and methods. Prompted by a deep sense of wonder at being alive, many mystics and sceptics, like the Buddha, practice disciplines of doubt in order to become free of attachment to fixed appearances, essences and viewpoints, and in doing so they find peace and equanimity. They develop ways of living with impermanence and the unexpected by letting go of adherence to...

Interwoven Nature is an unusual, lively and provocative reflection on human identity within nature - a philosophical and poetic meditation on our being-in-the-world. It is argued that if we fully realise our porous interwoven nature, we will not feel and behave like beings separate from, and in conflict with, the natural world. Danvers writes eloquently about the interrelatedness of everything within a universe of endless change, and about how we locate ourselves in, and navigate ways through, this fluid relational world - a world full of surprises, dangers, challenges and delights. With a...