Beyond Fate
CBC Massey Lecture Series
Anansi Press, 2002
208 pages
ISBN 0-88784-6793
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The book and audio cassettes of the lectures are also available from IDEAS Transcripts.
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Margaret Visser gave the 2002 CBC Massey Lectures, Beyond Fate, as a five lecture tour across Canada in November, 2003. The lectures were also released as a book by Anansi Press.
National Bestseller, Globe and Mail

In Beyond Fate, Visser investigates what fate means to us, and where the propensity to believe in it and accept it comes from. She takes an ancient metaphor where time is "seen" and spoken of as though it were space; she examines how this way of picturing reality can be a useful tool to think with – or, on the other hand, how it may lead us into disastrous misunderstandings. There are ways out. We begin by observing how fatalism expresses itself in our daily lives, in everything from table manners and shopping to sport. Having learned to detect the signs by which fatalism begins to manifest itself, we can go on to consider how to limit its influence over us. Beyond Fate provides a timely and provocative perspective on modern life, both personal and social.

REVIEWS:

"Certainly there are worse ways to exercise our freedom than by listening to (Margaret Visser's) learned and humane voice."
Andy Lamey, National Post