Seven Letters to Melin

Josef Safař k's Seven Letters to Melin is an exploration of man's alienation from nature--and from himself--in the modern technological age. Conceived as a series of letters to Melin, an engineer who believes in the value of science and technical progress, the book grows skeptical of such endeavors, while also examining mankind's search for meaning in life. To help uncover this meaning, Safař k posits a dichotomy between spectator and participant. The role of participant is played by Robert, an artist who has committed suicide. The spectator, embodied by the scientist Melin, views the world from a distance and searches for explanations, while the artist-participant creates the world through his own active engagement.
Through these exchanges, Safař k argues for the primacy of artistic creativity over scientific explanation, of truth over accuracy, of internal