The Myths We Live By cover art

The Myths We Live By

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for £5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Myths We Live By

By: Mary Midgley
Narrated by: Hillary Huber
Try Standard free

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £14.51

Buy Now for £14.51

About this listen

With a new introduction by the author

Myths, as Mary Midgley argues in this powerful audiobook, are everywhere. In political thought they sit at the heart of theories of human nature and the social contract; in economics in the pursuit of self interest; and in science the idea of human beings as machines, which originates in the 17th century, is a today a potent force. Far from being the opposite of science, however, Midgley argues that myth is a central part of it. Myths are neither lies nor mere stories, but a network of powerful symbols for interpreting the world. Tackling a dazzling array of subjects such as philosophy, evolutionary psychology, animals, consciousness, and the environment in her customary razor-sharp prose, The Myths We Live By reminds us of the powerful role of symbolism and the need to take our imaginative life seriously.

Mary Midgley is a moral philosopher and the author of many books including Wickedness, Evolution as a Religion, Beast and Man, and Science and Poetry.

©2004 Mary Midgley (P)2017 Gildan Media, LLC Customs & Traditions Ethics & Morality History Philosophy Social Sciences Mythology Tradition Mathematics Morality

Critic reviews

"An elegant and sane little book." ( The New Statesman)
All stars
Most relevant
I may change my mind by the end, but I can barely follow the words because the squeaky voice is killing my brain. A few days later and I did it. I'm not sure if the adenoidal mid Atlantic accent mellowed during the performance or whether I just got used to it, but I'm sure I missed half of the insights. Challenging, brilliant and occasionally polemic, there's a certain sarcasm for the poor bewildered mechanically minded souls throughout that I really liked. Second only to the constant and splendid motherly chuckle at the reductionists, in a sort of "there's more to this works than exists in your philosophy" kind of way. I'm going to have to do the book again, simply because the Myths are so beautifully exposed. Exquisitely done in fact, to suck a degree that I didn't mind the occasional dodgy dollop of hippy bollox, or the undertone of right-on activist simmering betwixt most of the words.

only a few minutes in ...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I would highly recommend and I intend to return and re read myself. I can't quite believe wasn't familiar at all with Midgley before reading this!

Brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Other than that, though, this is a neat, thought-provoking reappraisal of many of the assumptions underlying Western mindsets, from binary thinking to post-Enlightenment trust in misunderstandings about science, to the way we treat animals and the natural world. Borderline five stars, with one dropped simply for feeling a little dated (though not by as much as I was expecting - the attacks on Richard Dawkins felt especially current, given how he's fallen out of favour).

English author, American narrator; odd

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
So disappointed by this. Apologies to the poor soul whose voice this is but why this strange American drawl? Mary Midgley is an English philosopher after all who spent sixty years plus most of her professional career as a philosopher in Newcastle on Tyne. It would have been lovely to listen to this spoken with a discreet geordie twang...but no. What is audible thinking of?

the narration is horrible.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, the narration was terrible.

What did you like best about this story?

The book itself is excellent. Midgley is a brilliant thinker who expresses herself with clarity and wit.

Would you be willing to try another one of Hillary Huber’s performances?

No.

Could you see The Myths We Live By being made into a movie or a TV series? Who would the stars be?

NA

Any additional comments?

I was very excited to see that a Mary Midgley book was at last available on audible. Unfortunately I found the narration absolutely intolerable. I'm afraid I will have to return it unfinished. I hope very much that more Midgley books will become available with better readers.

Terrible narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews