The Fall: The Insanity of the Ego in Human History and the Dawning of a New Era: 4

by Steve Taylor

The Fall is a major work that overturns mainstream current thinking on the nature of civilization and human nature. It draws on the increasing evidence accumulated over recent decades that prehistoric humanity was peaceful and egalitarian, rather than war-like and crude. It is not natural for human beings to kill each other, for men to oppress women, for individuals to accumulate massive wealth and power, or to abuse nature. The worldwide myths of a Golden Age or an original paradise have a factual, archaeological basis.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Science, Religion, Society, Historical

336 pages, Paperback

First published September 8, 2005

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Steve Taylor is a senior lecturer in Psychology at Leeds Beckett University, UK. His latest books in the US are The Calm Center and Back to Sanity: Healing the Madness of the Human Mind. He is also the author of The Fall, Waking From Sleep, and Out Of The Darkness. His books have been published in 19 languages. His research has appeared in The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, The Journal of Consciousness Studies, The Transpersonal Psychology Review, The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, as well as the popular media in the UK, including on BBC World TV, The Guardian, and The Independent.

Reviews

[Tom Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book that promises much and delivers less, yet is still very much worth reading. For the most part it is written in a typical pop-science style, with citations littered throughout, a relatively impersonal voice, and seemingly relies heavily upon empirical science to back up its argument, which is essentially that society in recent times has developed various pathologies as a result of a sharpened sense of self and therefore a distancing of the individual from being part of a greater whole, and that this constitutes an evolutionary blip which began about 6,000 years ago and looks to be ending as we speak.

The problems begin when empirical science begins to be discarded at points where it disagrees with this theory. The language begins to take a tone of "let's assume that" or "it may be possible that", and proceeds to argue based on flaky evidence or no evidence at all. And it gradually turns the book into a relatively uncritical defence of what is obviously an obviously hard-earned theory, evidence cherry-picked or overturned to serve the protective author's whim. One page will see the argument resting on Sheldrake's theory of morphic resonance (commonly considered bogus); the following page will have the author citing anthropogenic climate change (commonly considered proven).

The scientific defence is further hampered by an obvious and rather romantic attachment to far eastern philoshopy; specifically Buddhism. While Buddhist principles have multiple parallels with the theory at the heart of the book, to warn against religious dogma in general when it comes to the Abrahamic ('fallen', in the book's own terms) religions, but then to cite other forms of dogma (which Buddhism clearly is, in spite of its wisdoms) as acceptable, leaves the skeptical reader thoroughly unsatisfied.

It's a shame, because the principle tenets of the book resonate strongly with one's intuitive sense of what the experience of being human should be like, and how the reality of the modern world seems to have pulled us off course in so many areas of life. The author's diagnosis of the social pathologies of today is one which has the reader nodding in recognition, there is a fascinating (if long-winded) discussion of the ins and outs of pre-Fall cultures and today's isolated counterparts, and the outlook for the future is full of hope. And this is why I can overlook the pseudo-scientific slip-ups, because they are far outweighed by the many more humanistic aspects of life that this book brings neatly into clarity.

[Mehmet]

Ciddi manada çelişkilerle, subjektif ifadelerle dolu kitap. Kitapta ilkel insanların çok mutlu ve huzurlu olduğu, barışçıl yaşadığı, ancak 6000 yıl önce tarım ve mülkiyet ile birlikte bir çöküş yaşandığı tezi üzerine kurulu.

Bunu yapmak için yazar ilkel insanları oldukça romantize ediyor. Örneğin 159. sayfada ilkel insanların esrarı hiçbir zaman eğlenmek için tüketmediğini, dinsel ayinlerin bir parçası olduğunu söylemesi. Bunu nereden biliyoruz? İnsanların "hiçbir zaman" esrarı eğlenmek amacıyla tüketmediğini nasıl ispat edebiliriz?

Kitapta oldukça yoğun bir toplumsal cinsiyet tartışması var. Ancak bunu hiç de bilimsel yapmamış. Örneğin 173. sayfada tüm erkeklerin zamanlarını savaşarak ve seks yaparak geçiren Vikingler olduğunu söylerken "tüm erkeklerin" savaşçı olduklarını ifade edecek kadar ileri gitmiş.

Kitabı dikkatli okuyan bir okur, kitabın başından itibaren "anaerkil" toplumları daha ileri, daha barışçıl ve gelişmiş kabul ettiğini fark eder. Ancak kitabın son bölümlerinde buradaki çelişki yazarın da dikkatini çekmiş olacak ki hiçbir ilkel kavmin anaerkil olmadığını söyleyiverir (s.192). Aslında anerkilliğin de tıpkı ataerkil gibi bir cinsiyetin diğerine karşı tahakkümü olduğu detayını fark etmiş olacak herhalde.

190. sayfadaki gibi bir çok yerde erkeklerin tahakküme yatkın olduğunu, bunun da nedeninin testesteron olduğunu ifade ederken deterministik ve fazla biyolojik bir yaklaşıma sahip olduğunu fark etmiyor yazar. Eğer testesteron yükseldiği için erkekler savaşçı ise bu onları suçlu değil bilakis mazlum yapar. Çünkü ellerinde olmayacak bir engele sahiptirler. Bu engel değiştiremeyecekleri bir hormondur.

Burada toplumsal cinsiyet genellemelerine kendisi de düşüyor. Örneğin 193. sayfada "Kadınlar ise erkekler kadar iktidar ve toplumsal mevki sahibi olma gereksinimi içerisinde değiller." gibi bir ifade kullanırken insanlığın yarısını bu derece rahat genellemesi gerçekten hayretler uyandırıcı. Devamında 195. sayfada "erkekler ise daha dobralar. Karşılarındakinin duygularını hiç dikkate almadan onun fikir ve önerilerini reddedebiliyorlar. Sık sık emir kipiyle konuşmaları da bu durumla alakalı. Kadınlarsa "anlıyorum" ve "ne hissettiğini biliyorum" gibi empati kuran tabirleri daha yaygın kullanıyorlar" demiş.

Bu genellemelerdeki rahatlık gerçekten sinir bozucu. Bütün erkekler yahut da bütün kadınlar hakkında bu derece kapsamlı araştırmaları kim yapmış gerçekten merak ediyorum.

Bakın ifadeye "Günümüzün "empati kuramayan" erkek beyni" (s.197). Bu ifadeyi hiç üzerime alınmıyorum. Çünkü gerçekten saçma.

Tarih önceki insanları oldukça romantize ederken onların nasıl bu kadar çevreyi tahrip ettiklerini kendisi de çelişkili görmüş olacak ki 267. sayfada onların ormanları yaktığı gerçeğini de ifade etmek zorunda kalmış.

Kitapta Jared Diamonds'un yerli kabilelerle ilgili alıntılarını kullanırken onları daha barışçıl anlatmış ama Diamonds okuyanlar, yerli kabilelerin savaşlarının modern savaşlara göre daha yıkıcı olduğunu söylediğini bilir. Çünkü ölen insan sayısı az olsa da nüfusa oranı çok daha fazladır!

Kitap "tinsel enerji dalgası" (s. 330) gibi bir çok soyut, ne anlama geldiği belirsiz kavramla dolu.

Sonuç olarak, sıkıcı, taraflı, tutarsız.

M.B.

[Katerina · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book presents a theory that society as we know it has developed several pathologies, all of which can be attributed to one major event: the Fall. It is practically a boom of the ego-sense, as a result of a major environmental change that took place 6,000 years ago, which led to war, patriarchy and inequalities, child oppression, monotheistic religions and abuse of nature. This boom affected most of the world's population, but there are a few communities that stayed pure.

I personally liked the argument of the book and had high expectations about it. The main problem of it, is that it relies heavily upon empirical science and this is used especially in points where there is disagreement with the theory. For most of the book there are references thrown around, but quite fast expressions like "let's assume that", "it is probably a mistake to refer/speak", "it is likely that", or "I believe" start appearing everywhere. And of course you can make an assumption, but then present evidence about it, right? Evidence that is kind of generally accepted and not just cherry-picked to support your theory.

This is the main flaw for me. I am a scientist and I have written several peer-reviewed papers. This document would not have passed a peer-reviewed process, although probably it was not intended as one, but as an effort to explain science simply for everybody. But it is different to explain simply science and different to cherry-pick proof. Evidence is selected so as to serve the author and his theory. In one paragraph the democracy of the Athenians is selective and the native Indian American's social structure praised as really democratic and a few paragraphs further the latter is admittedly also quite "special" too, but that is not important because the Indian Americans serve better our theory, as they are considered a pre-Fall nation and the Athenians a ante-Fall one. Commonly proven theories are merged with the ones commonly considered fake and this soup is used to prove the general theory of the Fall. The whole process of proving the Fall theory is further destroyed, when the author makes clear a few personal preferences of him, such as the far eastern philosophy (Buddhism) or the native American societies, even if these do not follow totally the pattern of his theory.

As I mentioned already, I started this book with every good faith that it will be interesting. In a lot of parts, I was mentally nodding to the way the author was presenting the theory. But quite quite often I was becoming sceptical about the argumentation and trying in vain to find true evidence in the text. Below I mention some of the individual points that contain a lot of discussion for me:

1. In the beginning there were small things, such as in page 20 the comment that "serfdom was common throughout Europe, especially Eastern Europe and Russia". Well, a big part of what is today considered Eastern Europe was part of the Ottoman Empire for most of its middle-age history up to the 19th or 20th century, where serfdom was not the common political scheme. The population was conquered by the Turks, but there was taxation per head both for the muslim and the non-muslim population, so as to be able to manage the vast areas of the empire and the diverse communities it had. But ok that is just a small detail, right?

2. At a point comes the romantic description of the Minoan Civilisation. They are considered un-fallen, with equality in their social structure and connection to Earth and nature. On the other hand, from the legend we know that they did have a king, king Minos, and there are definitely palaces that were excavated by Evans, a detail that doesn't totally fit in the whole description of the un-fallen societies.

3. Quite often myths are presented as evidence, for example Atlantis in page 150. I personally believe that myths contain fragments of real events, but they can not be used extensively as evidence de facto. I remember a sentence from the book "The Burrowers Beneath" of Brian Lumley "If you give to a legend a concrete location you strengthen it somewhat, and if that locations yields up something from the past, centuried relics of a civilisation lost for aeons, then the legend becomes history". I think this is what the author tries to do in this book, by strengthening the legends.

4. All throughout the book the status of women is discussed as being better in the pre-fall communities. And in page 118, the theory that these people heard voices in their head instead of "I"thoughts is elaborated. The example used is that a woman hears the voice in her head telling her that "she would better finish gathering food for the day and go home, because her husband might be coming home from his hunting expendition now". Nice example to advocate for the better position of women in that era!

5. In page 67 the position of women in ancient Greece is described. It is not totally wrong the description itself (yes it was like this in ancient Athens), just the generalisation that it was like this in the whole of ancient Greece, when it is known that women in Sparti had a different status (even if not totally equal to men, but still quite higher compared to the Athenian women) and there are theories advocating that the Spartian way was more common than the Athenian in the other Greek city-states.

6. In page 179 "the female brain is predominantly hard-wired for empathy. The male brain is predominantly hard-wired for understanding and building systems". Doesn't this argumentation imply that men are better in science than women, one of the main stereotypes of the current society that have been proven to be wrong?

7. In another chapter, the book refers extensively to the Aborigines of Australia, but the Maori of New Zealand do not fit in the pattern, so they are neglected, although they would fulfil all the initial qualifications that the Aborigines or the Polynesian natives have. Is this cherry-picking?

8. In page 234 it is argued that "linear time seems to have developed at roughly the same time as other effects of the second phase of the Fall, such as monotheism and intensifed warfare - that is during the mid to late centures of the 2nd millenium BCE." That for me means around 1500 - 1000 BC. But himself the author presents as examples of the cyclical time the Mayans, which are estimated at ca. 2000 BC to 1697 AD, the Greeks, estimated (if we exclude the Minoans) at 1600 - 146 BC, and the Hindus, which are estimated at ca. 4500 - 2000 BC. How does the author result in dating the linear time? By connecting it to Judaism, that is the only monotheistic religion at the time. Don't forget that Christianity appeared around 40 AD.

9. Again in page 243, the environmental abuse is connected to monotheism and is traced back to "the beginning of the Iron Age, around 1500 BC." And a bit later it is argued that " early polytheistic gods were associated with natural phenomena, presiding over mountains, rivers and seas". As I mentioned in the previous point, Judaism did appear around 1500 BC, but Christianity that replaced the polytheistic religions of Europe did not appear before 30 to 40 AD. So it seems that the dating of the Fall theory is based on Jusaism, which would be an exaggerated extrapolation for the religions of the rest of the world, wouldn't it?

10. In page 239, I quote from the book: "Many of us are fairly indifferent to social and political problems until they affect us directly" and the author finds me nodding to his comment. Then he continues with examples, mentioning "the issue of nuclear power may not bother us until a power station is built a few miles away and the children in our town develop leukaemia". This is how an argument starting nicely ends up awfully with a generalisation that is unacceptable from a scientific point of view!

11. In pages 246 - 7, there is a beautiful example of demonising science too. I quote from the book: "Modern science is carried away with a desire to manipulate all natural and biological phenomena, to completey understand the world and construct a complete explanation of everything, which will give it a satisfying sense of control and conquest. In this regard, it's not surprising that most scientists are men, since the male ego craves for this kind of dominance much more than the female." How can such sentences appear in a text that want to prove itself objective and scientific! As a female scientist that have been working for years in promoting the environment and convincing people for the climate change, this sentence is absolutely unacceptable! The author should read the book The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan. Although yes there are people that abuse science, science in itself is rather pure and not a way to dominate.

12. In page 250 it is admitted that the evidence of the theory lies in the fact that the cultural changes the book talks about happened at exactly the same time in history and to exactly the same human groups. This is only true as far as it concerns Judaism and the Simitic part of the human race. All throughout the book there are points where exactly this way of proving seems to be faulty and empirical.

In general, it is a pity! The theory would have been so interesting to be proved and the author's outlook for the future is full of hope. That's why it is still worthy to read it, but it should also be important to distinguish between what is science and what is pseudo-science and not present the latter as the former.

[Rıdvan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Güzeeeeelll
Çok beğendiğim bir bilimsel yayın daha.
Özetle diyor ki
Türümüzün ortaya çıkışı sırasında bir hata oluştu. İnsan denen türün binlerce yıllık tarihinde herşey yolunda giderken, herşey yolunda giderken derken bak gerçekten herşey yolunda giderken herşey ama herşey, yani o kadar yolunda ki bugün demokrasinin en ileri seviyesindeki ülkeler o ilkel mağara adamlarının, avcı-toplayıcı türün sahip olduğu refahın yarısına bile sahip değillerken, bundan tam 6000 yıl önce, yani mö4000 yılında birşey oldu. Yazılımımızda meydana gelen bir hata. Bugün hala düzeltilememiş bir virüs saldırısı. Bi halt oldu bu insan denen gereksiz yaratığa. Yazar buna zeka patlamasıyla birlikte ortaya çıkan “ego patlaması” diyor. Ve birbirimizi öldürmeye başladık. Köleleştirmeye başladık. Herşey bok oldu.

[Georgina Lara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has value mainly because it forces you to challenge beliefs you had never questioned before. I do not agree entirely with what is presented here but I have finished reading this and have been shaken by it.

[Aslı Can]

Bu kitabı okumak başlangıçta bana çok iyi geldi, çünkü milattan önce 12.000 gibi bir tarihte dünyada ne olup bittiğine dair hiçbir fikrim yokmuş sanırım.

Yazarın savı şu: m.ö. 6000'e kadar dünyada yaşayan insanlar içinde bulundukları dünyayla uyum ve birlik içindelerdi; öyle ki ben diye bir şey onlar içn yoktu. Fakat m.ö 6000'de dünyanın belli bölgelerinde baş gösteren kuraklaşma, çölleşme ve kıtlık bazı insan toplulukları üzerinde yıkıcı bir etki yaptı. Açlıkla ve doğa koşullarıyla başedebilmek için öncesine göre çok daha fazla zihinsel enerji sarf etmeleri ve çok daha fazla plan yapması gereken bu insanların, ''ego''ları da gelişmeye başladı ve yazarın deyişiyle bu durum, bu toplulukların bir ''ego patlaması'' yaşamasına sebep oldu. ''ben''in farkına varan ve kendini diğer tüm varlıklardan ayıran bu insanlar, yavaşça empati duygusunu da yitirmeye başladılar ve yüzyıllar içinde bu empati yoksunluğu onları daha da zalim yaptı. Güçlerinin farkına varan bu topluluklar, barışçıl, yani çökmemiş toplumları yıllar içinde ya öldürdüler ya köleleştirdiler ya da göçe zorladılar ve dünyada hakim kültür işte bu ego patlaması yaşayan toplulukların kültürü haline geldi.

Yazarın düşüncesi temel olarak empati yoksunluğu, dünyaya yabancılaşma ve zihin-beden dengesinin bozulması üzerine kurulu. Yazarın konuya tutkuyla bağlı olduğu fazlasıyla hissedildiyor kitabı okurken, fakat bu ''tutku'' bir dayatmaya dönüşüyor sıksık. Alıntıların fazlasıyla yanlı, savunulan fikre hizmet edecek şekilde özenle seçilmesi hafif bir şüpheye sebebiyet verdi bende. (biraz yorum okudum, birçok kişi aynı şeyi hissetmiş) Bir de yazar kitabın belli bir noktasından sonra sürekli kendini tekrar ediyor ki son seksen sayfayı gerçekten çok özensiz bir okumayla geçebildim ancak.

Bir de şöyle bir şey var, yazar fikre öyle bir tutunmuş ki, yazarın hafif delüzyona düşmüş olduğunu hissettirdi bana. Mesela, çilecilik örneğini bir bölümde çökmüş toplumların dini eğilimlerini örneklemek için; diğer bir bölümde ise yazarın ''çöküş ötesi' dediği, çökmüş kültürlerde yaşayan fakat çöküş öncesi bilince aydınlanmış insanların eğilimlerini örneklemek için kullanıyor.

Gerçekten çok keyifli olabilecekken, yazarın kendini ve okuma sürecini nasıl sabote ettiğini görmek üzücü oldu benim için. Yine de konu hakkında benim kadar bilgisizseniz okunabilir diyorum. Gayet güzel alıntılar ve bilgiler var çünkü kitapta.

EK- Yazar çöküş öncesi dünyada barışçıllığa ve uyuma vurgu yaparak, şiddetsiz bir dünyanın mümkün olduğuna değiniyor. Ona göre şiddet insan doğasının bir parçası ya da evrimin bir ürünü değil, çöküşten etkilenen birkaç topluluğun dünyaya hakim olmasının sonuçlarından birisi. Yazara göre dünyada şiddetin bu kadar yaygın olmasının sebebi, dünyada yaşayan birçok insanın işte bu istilacı insanların torunları olmalarından ve bu kültürle yetiştirilmelerinden kaynaklanıyor. Çözüm ise meditasyon, empati ve an'a dair farkındalıkla mümkün.

[Dawn Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fall by Steve Taylor
Review by Dawn Thomas

352 Pages
Publisher: John Hunt Publishing Ltd
Release Date: June 29, 2018

Historical, Cultural, Ancient Civilizations, Modern Civilizations, Sociology

This is an amazing book. I had many eye-opening moments while reading. The author discusses how the ancient people were peaceful until about 6,000 years ago. He provides historical information that details “The Fall” and the differences between the pre-Fall and after-Fall civilizations.

The author explains how the indigenous people lived closer to the land and more in harmony than modern civilizations. They respected each other and the land as opposed to modern man trying to outdo each other. He discusses the possibility for the change from peaceful non-hierarchal societies to male dominated societies. Mr. Taylor also talks about the Ego Explosion when some societies moved away from the land and developed aggression.

The Fall was originally published in September 2005. The information is still as relevant now as it was when it was written. I found the book very interesting. The author’s writing style presented the information in an easy to understand format. This is a book I will read over again. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in ancient civilizations or anyone who would like to change the current way of life.

[La Coccinelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me riveted. If we'd read books like this in high school history class, I would have been a lot more interested. The author does a great job of combining history, anthropology, gender studies, and spirituality (among other things) into a fascinating account of the past 6,000 years of human history.

I know that, after reading this book, I'll never look at the world the same way again. The premise behind the work makes so much sense, and helps to explain why things (good and bad) are the way they are.

Typos and grammar issues bother me, and there were some really horrendous ones in this book. However, I am willing to overlook them in this case and give this book five stars because I believe it is so important to our understanding of ourselves.

This is one of the best books I read in 2007. I highly recommend it.

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is in my view a well written and informative treatise on social history.Most of the evidence for the fall from a "golden age" is speculative but convincing all the same. The book is very readable and well laid out and contains some fascinating facts.For the most part the book covers the history of mankind from a spiritual standpoint without being too dreamy and utopian.

[Solor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book that try to answer some very difficult questions about the origin of violence, exploitation and Egocentrism.

[Tayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you can look past the pseudo-science tone, it's a very compelling book with a vital message, and probably the kind of book that a lot of people who are wondering why the world is so messed up and heading off a cliff may find some purchase with. It certainly challenged a lot of my assumptions and gives a vision of how we might aim to steer things away from impending global calamity. A healthy dose of hope for a bleak age.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book you can race through. It is heavy, at times a bit dismal and dreary. The thoughts and arguments are well thought out, presented and supported.
It is actually fascinating reading.

The prose comes across as a textbook, or college level lecture. Although there were concepts and historical facts that I found myself thinking, "We learned about this in grade school" but as an adult the implications are so much more powerful!

Looking at so many variables that impacted change in the way humankind responds as individuals, as community, and regarding spirituality, your thoughts and observations will not be the same after consuming these ideas.

I accepted this book via Netgalley to review.

[Tasneem · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an interesting book but has the distinct feel of a PhD thesis that hasn't been thought about as a work of prose that is to be published as a book. He has one main secondary text that he constantly refers to as his one piece of research. I think I shall enjoy exploring that text more - this left me feeling more inquisitive than not. The details about the Fall seemed over-done when I would rather have had more details about the Pre-Fall period. The Post-Fall period, our own feels so hopeful and optimistic and full of a young person's belief that change is possible. It made me smile - because it is also so dated given the current political and cultural climate.

[Hans Muller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up a German translation of this remarkable book in the University Bookshop in Bamberg(G). Was - and still am - impressed by Steve Taylor's ability to compress mankind's cultural travel through history in a book this size, adding a new and provocative angle to boot. His theory is clearly formulated in the first 50 pages, and the rest of the book seems to consist of supporting arguments. Still quite readable though. Will keep any other interested readers posted.

[Booklover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mind blowing. Explains so many things. Even if parts could be deemed speculative (although I didn't find them that way), the drawn conclusions make perfect sense. In my opinion, the author makes a solid case to support his theory. In real life not everything has to be proven with rock hard evidence, and being able to draw a conclusion without that sort of evidence makes the difference between survival and extinction. Well written and well documented. And an easy read.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know that I am clever enough to do this book justice. It is an eminently interesting and accessible read documenting the rise of the ego within the human mind, explaining how different peoples lived peacefully side by side in a manner we now all need to work towards individually and documents the events that led to fear, hatred and ultimately wars.

A fascinating book that I totally recommend so thanks to Netgalley for introducing me to Steve Taylor's work.

[Rhonda Lomazow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reprint with new afterword.A fascinating b& compelling blood at the ego how the rise of it causes many problems.Workd& personal problems.A fascinating book especially in today’s political climate,

[Peter J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read and not totally unrealistic. However evidence is given but not easy to verify.

[K.C. Resch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't agree with everything in this book (including annoying little things way outside the author's area of expertise, like calling autism an "empathy disorder"), and I've read some reviews critiquing his use of anthropological research and stuff. However, I'm a therapist, so my area of expertise is the human psyche, and at least when it comes to that, the author is spot on. Whether he gets all his history exactly right or not, this book is deeply true on a psychological and spiritual level, and is well worth the read just to think more deeply about where we've come from as a human race, where we're headed, and what it will take for us to halt our own extinction/damnation.

[Anna SP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy buen libro! Todo lo que expone tiene muchísimo sentido. Igual interesa/gusta más a la gente espiritual o que está familiarizada con el desarrollo personal - trabajo sobre el ego.
He echado de menos más contenido sobre las sociedades matrísticas , y no estoy de acuerdo con el con su negación a la adoración a la Diosa de esas culturas. (Hay plena evidencia de ello).
Se hace fácil de leer (más que los otros que tratan este tema o similares).
Muy buen libro que todo el mundo debería leer

[Nic Brisbourne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I oscillated between three and four stars for this. I like and buy into the theory - that humans developed much sharper egos 6,000 years ago, that led to a lot of good improvements in science and quality of life on some measures, but also a loss of empathy, increased cruelty, oppression, warfare, and destruction of the environment.

But some of the more detailed theory making and history was poorly substantiated and felt like a stretch. Which is a shame.

[Alexia Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very very interesting

[S.J. Howarth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and at times inspiring.

[Kevin Pease · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential reading. The choice is yours.

[さやか むらさと · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful journey following the natural progress of human cognitive devolution.

[Elan Garfias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super engaging read tracing human development from the "golden age" of hunting and gathering, to the silver age of horticulture, to the Fall, a climatic event engulfing much of "Saharasia"and leading to the neurotic oppressions that have marked civilization since its outset. Taylor's treatment of traditional cultures is refreshing thorough in its scope, taking as examples cases from prehistoric Europe, African Pygmies and Bushmen, Polynesians, and Native Americans. Many of us already have the idea in our heads that these people were somehow more humane and egalitarian, but Taylor takes this a step further and and covers the commonalities to be found among all these indigenous people, from gender dynamics to child rearing to sexual mores. Such a sympathetic anthropological overview would have been more than interesting, but the author links this to a broader narrative about the trajectory of humanity, from mindful, empathetic tribesmen to deeply disturbed, albeit brilliant, city-builders. The "Ego Explosion" which started as an adaptation to warming climates and insufficient crop yields offers a tragically compelling origin story for the pathologies of modernity, one in which the psychological unity underpinning tribal life was shattered into a world of loneliness and alienation. Though the writer seems a bit too attached to the Saharasia hypothesis and willing to get creative with the evidence (ie the Aztecs were really Chinese because they were violent), the psychic drama at the heart of the book stacked up well enough for me. Of particular interest is his account of the evolution of man's religious life, from animism and vague concepts of spirit-force to distant and vindictive deities dwelling in a heaven far from the realm. this is joined with evolutionary psychology to portray a humanity that's lost its innate ability to sense and feel and "redistributed" that energy inward to the Ego, one which births the marvelous fruits of creativity, but also one which constantly chatters away and makes itself the center of attention. It's not all doom and gloom though, for the psychotechnologies of the vedantists and an increasingly empathic world point to a novel evolutionary development, a safety reflex to prevent humanity from destroying itself and the world.

Aside from being both informative and engaging, this book forced me to engage with my own psyche while reading it, plumbing its depths for both the pre and post-Fall attributes laid out by Taylor. I got a chance to actively observe myself observing and question the phenomenology I often take for granted. A deeper relationship with oneself, with nature, with one's fellow man, and even with reality itself are some of the benefits on offer from reading this book; life needn't be so neurotic.

[Katerina · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you liked "Sapiens", you'll love this book!

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable to read and has changed the way I look at history and society in general. Excellent book to get you thinking. Not sure I entirely agree with all of the author's opinions about the future path of mankind or how evolution actually works but regardless highly recommended.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

...Very good book....

[Big · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5.0