Download or read book When Souls Had Wings written by Terryl L. Givens and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2012-06-07 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The idea of the pre-existence of the soul has been extremely important, widespread, and persistent throughout Western history--from even before the philosophy of Plato to the poetry of Robert Frost. This book offers the first systematic history of this little explored feature of Western culture. Terryl Givens underscores how durable (and controversial) this idea has been throughout history, highlighting the theological dangers it has represented, and revealing how prominently it has featured in poetry, literature, and art.