The Evolving Self

by Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly

• ISBN13: 9780060921927
• ISBN10: 0060921927
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-02-08
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

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

Table of Contents

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