Money and the Meaning of Life [Paperback]

Jacob Needleman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1994

If we understood the true role of money in our lives, writes philosopher Jacob Needleman, we would not think simply in terms of spending it or saving it. Money exerts a deep emotional influence on who we are and what we tell ourselves we can never have. Our long unwillingness to understand the emotional and spiritual effects of money on us is at the heart of why we have come to know the price of everything, and the value of nothing. Money has everything to do with the pursuit of an idealistic life, while at the same time, it is at the root of our daily frustrations. On a social level, money has a profound impact on the price of progress. Needleman shows how money slowly began to haunt us, from the invention of coins in Biblical times (when money was created to rescue the community good, not for self gain), through its hypnotic appeal in our money-obsessed era. This is a remarkable book that combines myth and psychology, the poetry of the Sufis and the wisdom of King Solomon, along with Jacob Needleman's searching of his own soul and his culture to explain how money can become a unique means of self-knowledge. As part of the Currency paperback line, it includes a "User's Guide" an introduction and discussion guide created for the paperback by the author -- to help readers make practical use of the book's ideas.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Philosopher Needleman ( The New Religions ) believes that our obsession with money and compulsion for material wealth undercut personal authenticity: "The money question is formed in us at the very roots of our personality," instilling a narrow attitude of personal gain. If only we would step back and look at the emotional and spiritual effects money has on us, the green stuff could "serve the aim of self-knowledge" and become "a tool for breaking out" of our mental prison, insists Needleman. Then we would appreciate existence as a gift. How to accomplish this self-transformation is not spelled out in this portentous sermon, which draws on ancient Greek and Hebrew views of hell, Christian teachings, the legend of King Solomon, Eastern wisdom, Meister Eckhart, Rilke, Emerson and an analysis of Max Weber and the roots of modern capitalism.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Needleman, a philosophy professor, argues that while we have countless books on making and managing money, there is little published on the relationship between the quest for money and the quest for the meaning of life. While that is often seen as humanity's main weakness, it is Needleman's thesis that in our time the principle of personal gain is embodied in the quest for money. In what seems to be an updated version of the gospel of wealth (complete with solemn quotes from a "businessman," probably Laurance Rockefeller), Needleman concludes that money can be accumulated not only for personal needs and wants, but for higher, philanthropic purposes that can give life real meaning. Recommended for academic and large public library collections.
- Jeffrey R. Herold, Bucyrus P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; New edition edition (September 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385262426
• ISBN-13: 978-0385262422
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Ethics

More About the Author

Jacob Needleman, the acclaimed author of The American Soul and Money and the Meaning of Life, is a professor of philosophy at San Francisco State University, and a former director of the Center for the Study of New Religions at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Get the Cliff Notes, September 2, 2003

By 

Vince Leo (minneapolis, mn USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Money and the Meaning of Life (Paperback)

There are good ideas, interesting asides, and new philosophical propositions to spare in Money and the Secret of Life. The basic premise--that money is a technology invented, not to accumulate wealth, but to realize human potential--is certainly worth our attention. Needleman is best describing money as the great tool of capitalism and capitalism as a great metaphysical system. The problem with Money and the Meaning of Life is that Jacob Needleman set out to write an inquiry into the spiritual potential of money, then sketched out a history of Western religious thought, and ended up writing a first person narrative full of punch lines thinly disguised as surprise philosophical discoveries. Mixing Max Weber, Guradjieff, Maimonodes, King Solomon, and an anonymous businessman (who really DOES know the meaning of life) could have been a rollercoaster ride full of unexpected connections and insights; what it actually ends up being is long-winded, self-conscious, and pretentious. In terms of the capitalist object, a good product, but, word for word, not exactly a terrific value.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A deeply spiritual and provocative look at life and money., October 1, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Money and the Meaning of Life (Paperback)

Could there be a subject more charged with the drama of human life? Each of us lives in some private, personal struggle with money that to a great extent dictates the course of our dreams, our search for meaning, and our compromises with deep Self. If you read nothing else about money, give yourself the great treat of opening the pages of this book. You may finally begin to comprehend why, if you have ever attempted to make money conscious, make it work for you rather than against you, take it into the domain of spirit, you have not succeeded. Not succeeded in finding deep or lasting satisfaction with it: as it squeezes you this way, frightens you that way, appears, disappears, plays with your hidden shame, seduces you to give up your heart's desire for more of it, etc. Beginning to understand why, you may also begin to have compassion for yourself in the midst of this journey, this search for The Way, in and through money. Needleman is fluent, wise, humble, and provocative as he lays out the foundation of a timely and really comprehensible thesis about the power of the most ubiquitous of elements fueling our lives and fantasies, money.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Is Money Not Money?, August 21, 2000

By 

nancy crawford (Minneapolis, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Money and the Meaning of Life (Paperback)

I have been on a never-ending search for a higher-paying, more satisfying job/career my entire life believing totally that this would be the answer to many of my life's challenges and problems. Further, I believed that all of these challenges and problems were for the most part being driven by external factors. After reading this book, I appreciate that my search surely was and is about more than making money.

The structure of the book is somewhat like a quilt pieced together of various subject matter, ideas and reflections about money. I had to make an effort to stay with the flow when I couldn't see where it was going. Perhaps this was a strategy the author choose to use and the one that kept me reading to the end.

It's not a book I was able to rush through because as I read the truth of what he was saying presented me with quite an accurate and painful reflection of my own behavior and beliefs about money. I could only read a little bit of the truth at a time because as I recall hearing once, the truth will set you free but first it's going to just about kill you. I had to let it kill me a little bit at a time.

An excellent companion piece to this book and one that Needleman cites is by Lewis Hyde entitled, "The Gift."