Animal Spirits

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“A master class in American cultural and intellectual history.” —Sarah E. Igo, The New York Times Book Review. “Jackson Lears is the preeminent cultural historian of the American empire. This book is another masterpiece in his magisterial corpus.” —Cornel West. One of Wired's best books of 2023. In this work, distinguished historian Jackson Lears delves into an alternative American cultural history, highlighting thinkers who celebrated individual spontaneity and a living universe, challenging conventional religion, business, and politics. From Puritan times to the present, Lears traces ideas like hypnosis and faith healing, revealing their journey from the pulpit and stock exchange to everyday life. He introduces influential figures such as Walt Whitman, William James, Andrew Jackson Davis, and Helen Wilmans, who articulated the concept of the “god within,” promoting a vision of humans as embodiments of the divine. Long before John Maynard Keynes noted the importance of “animal spirits” in capitalism, these vitalists crafted an American religion of embodied mind that aligned with market needs. In the twentieth century, this vitalist impulse was co-opted for nationalistic projects by figures like Theodore Roosevelt, while African American writers grappled with its complexities. The 1960s counterculture sought new ways to inspire the universe. Today, scientists are revisiting the vitalist tradition, encouraging a renewed appre