The Evolving Self

The author of the bestselling Flow (more than 125,000 copies sold) offers an intelligent, inspiring guide to life in the future.

Introduction

xi

PART I THE LURE OF THE PAST

The Mind and History

3

(25)

The Perspective of Evolution

3

(2)

The Global Network

5

(3)

At the Hinges of the New Millennium

8

(5)

Chance, Necessity, and Something Else

13

(2)

Are We Hopelessly Bad?

15

(3)

The Good and the Bad

18

(2)

The Emergence of the Self

20

(4)

Further Thoughts on ``The Mind and History''

24

(4)

Who Controls the Mind?

28

(27)

Eternal Dissatisfaction

29

(3)

Chaos and Consciousness

32

(2)

Why Is Happiness So Elusive?

34

(3)

The Limits of Reason

37

(5)

The Addiction to Pleasure

42

(4)

Stress, Strain, and Hormones

46

(6)

Further Thoughts on ``Who Controls the Mind?

52

(3)

The Veils of Maya

55

(31)

Illusion and Reality

55

(8)

The World of the Genes

63

(6)

The World of Culture

69

(7)

The World of the Self

76

(7)

Further Thoughts on ``The Veils of Maya``

83

(3)

Predators and Parasites

86

(33)

The Forces of Selection

86

(3)

Power and Oppression

89

(6)

The Exploitation of Women and Children

95

(3)

Individual Differences in Power

98

(3)

The Transmission of Inequality

101

(4)

Parasitic Exploitation

105

(2)

The Strategy of Irresponsibility

107

(2)

Exploitation Through Mimicry

109

(5)

Further Thoughts on ``Predators and Parasites``

114

(5)

Memes Versus Genes

119

(30)

The Competition of Memes

120

(6)

Memes and Addiction

126

(5)

Memes and Media

131

(5)

The Competition of Ideas

136

(3)

Memes and Materialism

139

(4)

Further Thoughts on ``Memes versus Genes''

143

(6)

PART II THE POWER OF THE FUTURE

Directing Evolution

149

(26)

Some Principles of Evolution

150

(7)

The Nature of Complexity

157

(2)

Morality and Evolution

159

(3)

The Control of Population

162

(3)

Eumemics: Limiting the Reproduction of Memes

165

(4)

Complexity of Consciousness

169

(3)

Further Thoughts on ``Directing Evolution''

172

(3)

Evolution and Flow

175

(32)

The Elements of Flow

179

(8)

Why Is Flow Rewarding?

187

(5)

The Consequences of Flow

192

(5)

What Happens When Flow Is Absent?

197

(2)

Flow in Everyday Life

199

(5)

Further Thoughts on ``Evolution and Flow''

204

(3)

The Transcendent Self

207

(45)

What Transcenders Are Like

208

(8)

What Is the Self?

216

(3)

Evolving Images of the Ideal Self

219

(15)

The Development of the Self Through the Life Span

234

(3)

Flow and the Growth of the Self

237

(1)

The Skills of Spirituality and Wisdom

238

(6)

The Challenges of the Future

244

(5)

Further Thoughts on ``The Transcendent Self''

249

(3)

The Flow of History

252

(27)

Flow and the Evolution of Technology

254

(4)

Flow and Historical Change

258

(8)

The Good Society

266

(3)

Creating a Good Society

269

(3)

Educating for the Good Society

272

(5)

Further Thoughts on ``The Flow of History''

277

(2)

A Fellowship of the Future

279

(18)

Forging a Fellowship

281

(4)

Cells of the Future

285

(4)

A Faith of the Future

289

(5)

Further Thoughts on ``A Fellowship of the Future''

294

(3)

Acknowledgments

297

(2)

Notes

299

(36)

References

335

(16)

Index

351

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Summary

Table of Contents

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