In The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World, ecologist and philosopher David Abram explores the intersection of human perception and the natural world. Originally published in 1996, the work blends his personal experiences with philosophical inquiry and, while not easy to categorize, generally falls into the genre of environmental philosophy. It delves into topics such as the role of language in shaping human experience and engagement with the environment. Abram argues that modern Western society’s reliance on technology and literacy has dulled sensory experiences, creating disconnection from the natural world that Indigenous cultures understand more intimately. The book is a call to recognize and renew modern society’s relationship with the more-than-human world, advocating a more embodied and participatory approach to the environment.

Abram draws on his academic background and hands-on experience as a magician among Indigenous cultures. His unique perspective illuminates thematic elements like the significance of sensory experience in understanding one’s place within the broader ecology and how senses, language, and culture interconnect with the animate earth.

Content Warning: The book contains discussions that reference historical eras of colonization, which is associated with cultural displacement, loss of Indigenous knowledge, and ecological disruption.

This guide refers to the 2012 Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Kindle edition.

Summary

The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram explores the intricate relationship between humans and the natural world, emphasizing the impact of sensory experience and alphabetic literacy on this relationship. Abram begins by recounting personal experiences that highlight the connection that humans historically maintained with the environment through sensory engagement. He argues that modern society’s shift toward a predominantly human-centric and technology-focused existence has distanced individuals from the natural dialogues that once defined human interaction with the world.

Abram introduces phenomenology as a method to understand the contrast between the experienced worlds of Indigenous cultures and the modern Western world. He discusses the work of Edmund Husserl and Maurice Merleau-Ponty, who emphasize subjective, lived experience as foundational to all knowledge. This approach challenges the modern assumption of a single, objective reality and highlights the body’s role in mediating between subjective experiences and the intersubjective world.

The book delves into the concept of animism, proposing that in the absence of intervening technologies, sensory perception is inherently animistic, engaging in a participatory exchange with the environment. This suggests that all aspects of the natural world possess a spiritual essence and are capable of interaction, fostering interconnectedness between humans and the natural world. However, the advent of alphabetic writing marked a significant shift in human consciousness, distancing humans from the animate landscape. Abram traces this shift through the development of the alphabet, from its origins as a means of engaging with the natural world to its role in fostering an abstract, human-centric view of language and knowledge. Abram explores the impact of writing on Indigenous cultures’ oral traditions, arguing that it abstracts stories from their specific locations, leading to a loss of participatory engagement with the world. In contrast, the linguistic and ecological interrelatedness of Indigenous cultures links language and the environment as inseparable.

In examining the historical development of concepts of space and time, Abram highlights how the transition to a literate society contributed to the modern ecological crisis by fostering a view of nature as a passive resource. He advocates reengagement with oral traditions and a more embodied, sensory experience of language to bridge the gap between humanity and the natural world.

The book concludes with a reflection on the importance of rekindling connections with the natural world and sensory experiences. Abram calls for a return to a more embodied and participatory mode of awareness, suggesting that intelligence is a property of the earth itself, shared among all its inhabitants. He urges recognition of the unique intelligence of each place and advocates writing language back into the land, crafting stories that echo the local soundscape and reestablish a bond with the world beyond the human. In the Afterword, Abram reflects on the book’s broad appeal across various fields, from environmental activism to academia. He reiterates the book’s argument against the backdrop of the digital age, emphasizing the need to prioritize the embodied experience of the local, tangible world amid the proliferation of virtual realities and distant global concerns. Abram argues that only by grounding oneself in the immediate sensory experiences of the environment can one navigate the challenges of the modern world wisely, fulfilling one’s responsibilities to the earth and maintaining humanity through contact with the nonhuman, or more-than-human, world.