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ISBN: 9780865719545

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The Web of Meaning

Integrating Science and Traditional Wisdom to Find our Place in the Universe

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This book lays out an entirely different foundation for a civilization that could lead us sustainably through this century and beyond. It reveals the flaws hidden within the current worldview, showing how certain erroneous ideas became so entrenched in popular thinking that they simply got taken for granted – and how that has led to our current predicament. Most importantly, it shows how the combined insights of traditional l wisdom and modern scientific thinking offer a solid, integrated foundation for another worldview – one that could redirect human civilization onto a very different trajectory and offer future generations a flourishing world in which to thrive.

Contributors

Jeremy Lent

Jeremy Lent is an author whose writings investigate the patterns of thought that have led our civilization to its current crisis of sustainability. Born in London, England, Lent received a BA in English Literature from Cambridge University, an MBA from the University of Chicago, and was a former internet company CEO. His award-winning book, The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity's Search for Meaning, explores the way humans have made meaning from the cosmos from hunter-gatherer times to the present day. He is founder of the non-profit Liology Institute, dedicated to fostering an integrated, life-affirming worldview that could enable humanity to thrive sustainably on Earth. He lives with his partner in Berkeley, California.

Chapter Title Contents Contributors Pages Year Price

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Traditional Chinese and Greek philosophy of mind is discussed, along with the insights of modern neuroscience. The chapter describes the role of the pre-frontal cortex as the executive function, … 19 $1.90

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This chapter links the European loss of seeing the world as connected with the Scientific Revolution, and how that view has continued uninterrupted in Indigenous ways of seeing and knowing. … 26 $2.60

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How the "I" and the "self" split apart early in human evolution is viewed as a defining characteristic of humanity. The differences between I and self are discussed, along … 26 $2.60

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The chapter begins with the paradox of the Ship of Theseus, and continues with the the philosophy of flux of the Pre-Socratics and of the Song Dynasty of China. How things can be in constant flux … 31 $3.10

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Competition in the development of life is contrasted with the far more important role co-operation has had in producing the breathtaking diversity and beauty of life. Darwinism, the discovery of … 27 $2.70

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This chapter discovers that not only that life does have purpose, but that intrinsic purpose is, in fact, a defining characteristic of life. The author discusses research in the dynamics of … 23 $2.30

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This chapter overturns much conventional thinking and points out that the natural world, our own nature, and the culture in which we are embedded, are all subject to the same principles. … 22 $2.20

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Examining the way we develop as profoundly affected by the conditions in which we grow, the author describes health in harmony and the harmful effects of advertising such as income inequality, … 28 $2.80

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This chapter contrasts an inborn moral sense with beliefs in humanity’s intrinsic malevolence. The way values have evolved towards empathy, altruistic behaviours, cooperation, and fairness … 27 $2.70

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The chapter begins with the absurdity of anthropocentrism, continuing with the European thirst for domination overseas and over nature. The Great Acceleration is described as the commodification … 29 $2.90

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This chapter contrasts the European tradition of a self-contained individual and consciousness with the Buddhist (and other) traditions of the boundaries separating the self from others as all … 30 $3.00

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This chapter asserts that once the reality of a connected universe is embraced, new forms of identity naturally emerge. Rejecting dualism and reductionism, paradigm shifts, pantheism, Buddhism, … 21 $2.10

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The chapter concludes that an ecological civilization will emerge only when the symbiotic linkages between people become a more powerful force than the competitive impulses engendered by the … 34 $3.40