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"A profound personal meditation on human existence and a tour-de-force weaving together of historic and contemporary thought on the deepest question of all: why are we here?"
— Gabor Maté M.D., author, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
As our civilization careens toward climate breakdown, ecological destruction, and gaping inequality, people are losing their existential moorings. The dominant worldview of disconnection, which tells us we are split between mind and body, separate from each other, and at odds with the natural world, has been invalidated by modern science.
Award-winning author, Jeremy Lent, investigates humanity's age-old questions – Who am I? Why am I? How should I live? – from a fresh perspective, weaving together findings from modern systems thinking, evolutionary biology, and cognitive neuroscience with insights from Buddhism, Taoism, and Indigenous wisdom.
The result is a breathtaking accomplishment: a rich, coherent worldview based on a deep recognition of connectedness within ourselves, between each other, and with the entire natural world. It offers a compelling foundation for a new philosophical framework that could enable humanity to thrive sustainably on a flourishing Earth.
The Web of Meaning is for everyone looking for deep and coherent answers to the crisis of civilization.
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.
Introduction
Part 1: Who Am I?
Chapter 1: The Nameless Uncarved Wood
Chapter 2: The Most Important Relationship of Your Life
Chapter 3: The Original AI: Animate Intelligence
Part 2: Where Am I?
Chapter 4: The Patterns of the Universe
Chapter 5: The Harmonic Web of Life
Part 3: What Am I?
Chapter 6: The Deep Purpose of Life
Chapter 7: The Tao in My Own Nature
Part 4: How Should I Live?
Chapter 8: Flourishing as an Integrated Organism
Chapter 9: Cultivating Integrated Values
Chapter 10: Human | Nature
Part 5: Why Am I?
Chapter 11: Everything Is Connected
Chapter 12: From Fixed Self to Infinite Li: The Fractal Nature of Identity
Chapter 13: Weaving a New Story of Meaning