Dismantling Discontent: Buddha's Way Through Darwin's World

by Charles A. Fisher

Early hominids lived in an animal harmony with nature, free of the existential suffering we Homo sapiens experience. Evolutionary changes to our ancestors' bodies and brains endowed us with an increased capacity for creative productivity and the discontent that comes with disconnection from our environment. This duality of our evolution sets us apart from other species and inspires our most profound intellectual and spiritual yearning.Science and spiritual practice have long been considered mutually exclusive, and yet they are both methods of investigating the universe in which we live. Dismantling Discontent offers a provocative perspective on our existential suffering from the metaphorical viewpoints of Darwin and Buddha, synthesizing their two approaches-science and meditation-into a powerful union and shattering previous assumptions about the incompatibility of these two very different ways of knowing. His daring, grounded in years of solid research and sincere practice, has cleared the path to an inspired new "middle way" for us humans to be at greater peace with our selves, each other, and the world in which we live.

Genres: Philosophy

442 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2007