{"product_id":"before-the-meaning-settles-michael-c-cunningham-9798183931525","title":"Before the Meaning Settles","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBefore the Meaning Settles\u003c\/b\u003e is a short philosophical book about perception, meaning, and the self.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWe often think we are responding to the world as it is. But much of what feels obvious has already been shaped by angle, memory, language, fear, habit, and need. Meaning arrives quickly. It feels like perception. It feels like certainty. But often, it has settled before we notice it forming.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book follows that movement.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFirst, it looks at how perception feels complete even when it is partial. Then it examines meaning as something we use to organize experience, communicate with others, and survive uncertainty. Finally, it turns toward the self-not as a fixed inner object, but as something shaped through repeated meanings, relationships, roles, and patterns of response.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe central claim is simple: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMeaning is not merely something the self uses. Meaning helps build the self that appears to be using it.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWritten in brief, accessible chapters, \u003ci\u003eBefore the Meaning Settles\u003c\/i\u003e is for readers interested in philosophy, psychology, language, identity, uncertainty, and the strange human habit of mistaking settled meaning for truth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt does not offer a system.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt offers a pause before the system closes.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Michael C. Cunningham\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798183931525\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/23\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 62\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.16lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.15d","brand":"Michael C. Cunningham","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48997825642751,"sku":"9798183931525","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/before-the-meaning-settles-michael-c-cunningham-9798183931525","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}