The Ascent of Humanity Civilization and the Human Sense of Self [Paperback]

Charles Eisenstein explores the history and potential future of civilization, tracing the converging crises of our age to the illusion of the separate self. In this landmark book, Eisenstein explains how a disconnection from the natural world and one another is built into the foundations of civilization: into science, religion, money, technology, medicine, and education as we know them. As a result, each of these institutions faces a grave and growing crisis, fueling our near-pathological pursuit of technological fixes even as we push our planet to the brink of collapse.

Fortunately, an Age of Reunion is emerging out of the birth pangs of an earth in crisis. As our old constructs of self and world dissolve in crisis, we are entering a new narrative of interbeing, a more expansive sense of self, and a more ecological relationship to nature. Our darkest hour bears the possibility of a more beautiful world—not through the extension of millennia-old methods of management and control but by fundamentally reimagining ourselves and our systems.  Breathtaking in its scope and intelligence,The Ascent of Humanityis a remarkable book showing what it truly means to be human. Yale graduate, professor, speaker and author, remove the letters se from his surname and you have an idea just how brilliant a thinker Eisenstein is considered to be. —Montreal Gazette

This is an extraordinary book. Eisenstein has put his finger on the core problem facing humanity—namely: separation. All the crises that humanity now faces are grounded in the belief that we are separate—separate from each other, separate from the biosphere that sustains us, separate from the universe that has brought us forth. This is a tour-de-force filled with astounding insight, wit, wisdom and heart. —Christopher Uhl, author ofDeveloping Ecological Consciousness: Paths to a Sustainable Future
 
Quite marvelous, a hugl3#