My Cultural Classics
Explore essential cultural classics, from Jared Diamond’s *Guns, Germs, and Steel* to Alan Watts’ *The Book*—a curated reading list on civilization, philosophy, and human understanding.
Book
The Book
by Alan Watts
A revelatory primer on what it means to be human, from "the perfect guide for a course correction in life" (Deepak Chopra)—and a mind-opening manual of initiation into the central mystery of existence. At the root of human conflict is our fundamental misunderstanding of who we are. The illusion that we are isolated beings, unconnected to the rest of the universe, has led us to view the “outside” world with hostility, and has fueled our misuse of technology and our violent and hostile subjugation of the natural world. To help us understand that the self is in fact the root and ground of the universe, Watts has crafted a revelatory primer on what it means to be human—and a mind-opening manual of initiation into the central mystery of existence. In The Book, Alan Watts provides us with a much-needed answer to the problem of personal identity, distilling and adapting the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta.
Book
Theology and the Scientific Imagination from the Middle Ages to the Seventeenth Century
No summary available.
Book
Homeland Earth
by Edgar Morin
Summary: Edgar Morin, one of the leading figures in European thought, challenges us to think differently about our past, our present, and our future. Morin points to the development of a planetary culture that is not homogenizing or fragmented, and the need to recognize complexity, uncertainty, and ambiguity as potential sources of creativity, learning, and transformation. Given the uncertainty of our journey, Morin presents "complex thought" as a way to overcome the "crisis of the future," and stresses the importance of solidarity.
