The nearest Cooper comes to giving his readers the traditional lump of theory which normally precedes academic text books is in his conclusion to Sacred Nature . Essentially, this is a conclusion to both books, and it leaves us with two main thoughts. One concerns the persistence of paradox within language as a creator of geographical, religious and other cultural meaning. Among the sacred mountains, for example, the spiritual nature of the traveller s experience is both accessible and inaccessible, inviting but also frustrating, beautiful but also and always terrifying. Language, Cooper notes, is like the character of Ariel in The Tempest , both our servant and our torturer.
Language synthesizes some ideas but refuses to reconcile others.
Economics, ecology and spiritual experience are some of the areas Cooper finds are most difficult to reconcile. A second major thread in Cooper s conclusion is the undeniable need to carry on searching. Answers will never be complete, not for the pilgrims, nor for the writers or readers. We explore knowing that full answers are never available. Fuller answers, yes.