Identifying what she calls a materialist premise of modernity, the author explains the implications of it for major cultural aspects of modern civilization. When materialism is set aside she suggests, the world is acknowledged with having an inner life of its own.

Freya Mathews identifies what she calls a materialist premise of modernity and explains the implications of it for major cultural aspects of modern civilization. When materialism is set aside she suggests, the world is acknowledged as having an inner life of its own with attendant capacities for poetic engagement and expression, then the entire focus of culture shifts.