Saving...
The Ascent of Humanity
The Ascent of Humanity is a radical exploration of the history and future of civilization from a unique perspective: the human sense of self. Eisenstein traces all of the converging crises of our age to a common source, which he calls Separation. It is the ideology of the discrete and separate self that has generated these crises; therefore, he argues, nothing less than a “revolution in human beingness” will be sufficient to transform our relationship to each other and the planet. And this revolution is underway already.
In all realms of human endeavor, an Age of Reunion is emerging out of the birth-pangs of a planet in crisis. The range and depth of Eisenstein’s thesis is breath-taking. Encompassing science, religion, spirituality, technology, economics, medicine, education, and more, he details a vast paradigm shift reflecting a more fundamental shift in the human sense of self. Even in this dark hour, he says, a more beautiful world is possible — but not through the extension of millennia-old methods of management and control. The convergence of crises is revealing the final bankruptcy of those methods. Soon, he says, we will abandon the Babelian effort to build a tower to Heaven, as we realize that the sky is all around us already. Then, we will turn our efforts to creating a new kind of civilization, a conscious civilization designed for beauty rather than height.
Review by Steven A. Reid “Philosopher Neurosurgeon” (Gainesville, FL USA)
Eisenstein convincingly develops the thesis that humanity has succumbed to the dismal end game of the Technological and Scientific Programs. He describes the Scientific Program as the attempt to understand every phenomenon through the application of the Scientific Method — extending reductionism, measurement, classification, and enumeration inappropriately to aspects of existence or relationships where they do not apply. The Technological Program seeks to control nature, and thereby often disrupts it through unintended consequences. The usual, and usually incorrect, response to these blunders consists of more technology; more control. He argues that cooperation between life forms may prove much more important to evolution than competition. He shows how the prevailing materialistic world view, one seeking to isolate Man from hostile nature, colours seemingly objective scientific theory.
By focusing on self organizing systems of increasing complexity, he spotlights how matter literally tends to “come alive”. The Divine exists not as a remote, possibly disinterested deity, but rather in every bit of the extant World.
The time has come for Humanity’s next big step. We need to recognize that only imaginary, arbitrary boundaries divide the individual from the rest of the Universe. The “out there” and the “in here” exist only as concepts, not as valid categories delimiting our physiological and mental domains. We live in a world of abundance, where cooperation, not a paranoid “me vs. the hostile other” perspective should inform our philosophy.
This book might just catalyze a paradigm shift affecting science, economics, psychology, and theology. You will find it much easier to read than this review, and a lot more fascinating.
PDF 