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The Uncarved Block
Paperback
PhilosophyGeneral Eastern ReligionsTaoism
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Publisher: Steve Brandl
Published: Mar 31 2026
Pages: 320
Weight: 0.82
Height: 0.72 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
The Uncarved Block is a contemplative encounter with Laozi and Zhuangzi for the modern reader. Part philosophical inquiry, part literary rendering, part meditative companion, it brings the Daodejing and the Zhuangzi into conversation with neuroscience, embodiment, and the lived experience of being human before the story-making mind takes over.
Written in a voice that is clear, poetic, and unsentimental, the book begins with an investigation into the nature of self, perception, and consciousness. From there, it opens into fresh renderings of the Daodejing and the Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi, each presented in three complementary modes: a plain reading, a reflective investigation, and a lyrical verse. Essential passages from the wider Zhuangzi and a closing epilogue from the Liezi complete the journey.
This is not a scholarly translation, nor a book of spiritual instruction. It is an invitation: to look again at what you are, what remains before naming, and what becomes possible when the grip of certainty begins to loosen.
For readers of Daoism, philosophy, contemplative practice, and embodied wisdom, The Uncarved Block offers not doctrine, but a gate.
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