Notes on the Materiality and Spirituality of Books and their Being in the World

Abstract

As an object, the book has a material condition. On the surface, it is a collection of printed leaves held between two covers. The graphics, colours and design are aspects partaking of its aesthetic dimension. However, beyond this materiality, with all its aesthetic qualities, the book has an intrinsic capacity of undergoing changes in its status. Gabriel Liiceanu, a Romanian philosopher, argues that the book is an imploring object. It begs to be opened, read, and thus brought to life. Therefore, the book is an object with a special fate, which necessarily depends on the whims and moods of the Reader who, by merely opening and reading it, changes its ontological status, breathes life onto it and saves it from an improper state of being, as Liiceanu argues. The book’s status as an object is exceptional in this situation. As an object, the book is a treasure trove. The big drama of any book is that of being sentenced to a life in prison between its covers, while its big fortune is to become a spiritual and cultural presence in the mind and soul of the Reader.

Keywords

• the book as object
• materiality
• aesthetic dimension
• ontological status
• cultural and spiritual presence