The Ascent of Humanity, Charles Eisenstein
The Ascent of Humanity, Charles Eisenstein
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The Ascent of Humanity
Civilization and the Human Sense of Self

Author: Charles Eisenstein

Narrator: Steve Wojtas

Unabridged: 27 hr 26 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/22/2017

Synopsis

The author of The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible explores the history and potential future of civilization, tracing the converging crises of our age to the illusion of the separate self
 
Our disconnection from one another and the natural world has mislaid the foundations of science, religion, money, technology, economics, medicine, and education as we know them. It has fired our near-pathological pursuit of technological Utopias even as we push ourselves and our planet to the brink of collapse.
 
Fortunately, an Age of Reunion is emerging out of the birth pangs of an earth in crisis. Our journey of separation hasn't been a terrible mistake but an evolutionary process and an adventure in self-discovery.

Even in our darkest hour, Eisenstein sees 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. We must shift away from our Babelian efforts to build ever-higher towers to heaven and instead turn out attention to creating a new kind of civilization—one designed for beauty rather than height.

About The Author

Charles Eisenstein is a speaker and writer focusing on themes of civilization, consciousness, money, and human cultural evolution. His viral short films and essays online have established him as a genre-defying social philosopher and countercultural intellectual. Eisenstein graduated from Yale University in 1989 with a degree in Mathematics and Philosophy and spent the next ten years as a Chinese–English translator. The author of Sacred Economics and The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible, he currently lives in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.Steve Wojtas is a prolific voiceover artist who has provided narration for national commercials, audiobooks, corporate explainers, podcasts, and video games. He also performs on stage, specializing in Shakespeare, and in a recurring role on television's Chicago Fire and Chicago PD.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Justin on February 22, 2009

The Ascent of Humanity falls into a selective category of books which has redefined my life simply by the process of reading it. Similar to the breath of fresh air I received when reading Krishnamurti or Arthur Koestler for the first time, Charles Eisenstein is the modern practical philosopher. But......more

Goodreads review by David on February 11, 2013

I read Sacred Economics first. Skipped chapters where he describes his vision for a global shift of paradigms, as it felt like repeat of what he wrote in his other book, only more wordy. Repeats himself a lot in both books, a style I don't appreciate. I went back and read the chapters I skipped. The......more

Goodreads review by Christopher on February 03, 2016

"The best books are those that tell you what you already know."                            -George Orwell, 1984 This quote eloquently summarizes how I felt throughout the entire journey of reading this book.  Eisenstein was able to capture all of the subtle anxieties underlying everyday experiences of......more

Goodreads review by Stephen on March 28, 2019

This book contained so many flimsy and irrational ideas, it was strangely compelling and for a long time I could not step reading. The basic argument is that our species previously dwelt in a kind of mystical animal joy that was ruined by our adoption of tools (the earliest mistaken faith in technol......more

Goodreads review by Derek on April 29, 2012

I have given other books five stars, but reading this one makes me want to demote them to a mere three or four stars. My old favorite book (my favorite since I was 15 when I first read it), The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien, has just been replaced by Mr. Eisenstein's thorough and articulate work. I......more

Quotes

"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 of Developing Ecological Consciousness: Paths to a Sustainable Future
 
"Quite marvelous, a hugely important work... This book is truly needed in this time of deepening crisis."—John Zerzan, author of Future Primitive and Elements of Refusal

 "A radical awakening as to how we arrived at our current crisis and how we can more effectively redefine the path of our evolutionary journey."—Bruce Lipton, author of The Biology of Belief
 
"Brilliant and original, with great depth of insight and understanding, Eisenstein's Ascent of Humanity easily ranks with the works of such giants of our age as David Bohm, Julian Jaynes, Jean Gebser, Whitehead. It is a profoundly serious, indeed somber portrait of our times, even as it opens a door of honest hope amidst the dark destiny we have woven about us. Accept the challenge of this major accomplishment and discover the light shining within it."—Joseph Chilton Pearce, author of The Crack in the Cosmic Egg, Magical Child, Evolution's End, and The Biology of Transcendence
 
"This is one of those rare books that moves the goal posts. Eisenstein pulls together a wide array of insights to show that what we thought was the solution is also the problem. It is eye opening fodder for conversations with everyone I meet. As a technologist and a human being, I believe this could well be one of the most important books of the decade."—Garret Moddel, professor of electrical engineering at UC Boulder; chairman & CTO, Phiar Corporation

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