SALINA, KAN. -
The nationally-distributed C-SPAN's Book TV series is coming to Salina to record a presentation with Robert Jensen, speaking about his new book, This I Don’t Believe: A Fulfilling Life without Meaning.
The event is at 2:00 pm at the Salina Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 901 Beatrice, Sunday, November 1st.
The public is invited to hear Jensen and participate with questions and comments.
An Emeritus Professor in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Texas at Austin, Jensen has written a dozen books on politics and culture, including several books with Wes Jackson, co-founder of Salina’s Land Institute. He is an associate producer of the documentary film “Prairie Prophecy”about Jackson’s work.
This I Don’t Believe confronts the common fear that life has no intrinsic meaning and then describes one path to fulfillment without it. Mixing memoir and philosophy, Jensen invites readers to ponder the possibility of life without transcendence. Rejecting common sources of meaning—belief in God, spirituality, Nature mysticism, and free will—need not leave us stuck with nihilism. Drawing on his work as journalist and professor, Jensen suggests that a life of thinking and work—joyful inquiry into a wonderfully complex world, coupled with a practice of ordinary labor—can create a fulfilling life.
Historian Elizabeth Cobbs said, “Robert Jensen's prose is like water—simple, refreshing, nourishing. The author refuses to tell anyone what to think, but shows how life’s sharp twists brought one man to think. A profound and delightful book.”
Ecological philosopher Patrick Curry said, “If Socrates had been born an American in the 20th century, this is a book he would have written. There is nothing Robert Jensen is afraid to question and no answer he is afraid to consider. Read it at your peril!”