Description
Chosen for Winter 2018 PEOPLE’S BOOK PRIZE COLLECTION for Non-Fiction.
Society is in a state of chaos, causing great suffering for people all over the world. Yet almost all life stresses are human-made. Our species is literally making itself sick. In A World in Two Minds, Kenny Jamieson considers the two complex adaptive systems behind the chaos – the individual mind and the global mind – and how the latter emerges, in the form of culture, from the former. He explores how conflict results from the opposing operating modes of the two brain hemispheres.
We have a global cognitive imbalance due to the dominance of the mechanistic worldview of scientific materialism, which is strongly rooted in the left mind and Western culture. Over centuries, this bias has gradually dissociated us from the right mind, lowering consciousness, denaturing the human condition and negatively impacting our health. However, in more recent times a distinctly organic worldview has emerged, shifting attitudes towards human rights, gender equality and environmentalism, while undermining scientific materialism. In doing so it has pushed global society to the ‘edge of chaos’, as our human system seeks to rebalance itself and make our species whole again. Our global crisis is no more than the result of competing worldviews and their associated cultures clashing.
Today, life offers the human race both opportunity and danger. Our global mind could evolve to a higher cognitive plane where harmony, health and happiness prevail, but it could just as easily disintegrate, leading to catastrophic conflict. Our future is unknown but whatever we bring forth will be the output of the global mind we collectively create. Critically, everyone has a role to play. Any one of us could be the final catalyst which tips our whole human system into a new era. Elevated personal consciousness and greater civic engagement are pre-requisites, and increasing the influence of women could potentially fast-track us forward. We must change our thinking to change our future, but whether we are smart enough to do so remains the great unknown. All will be revealed in the 21st century.
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Author Details
K W Jamieson graduated in social sciences from Edinburgh University, after which he applied his passion for socio-cultural anthropology in the fields of marketing and innovation. After two decades in the drinks industry, he founded his own consultancy specializing in the application of ‘whole-brain’ thinking to the challenges facing modern business and society. A World in Two Minds synthesizes over 30 years of study and learning across human anthropology, psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, sociology and behavioural economics.
Visit the website of his business, Dreamweavers.
You can read more about Kenny Jamieson on his author page.
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Reviews
“Jamieson … is worthily trying to encourage everyone – we all have a part to play – to think more deeply, to cherish our highest thoughts and deepest feelings, to love the world of which we are a part and to work co-operatively with our fellow human beings.”
Peter B. Godfrey, Faith and Freedom
“Women are the catalyst for change in our crazy world – and here’s the proof! This is a thought-provoking read, written in a very authoritative style that both asks and answers questions but still leaves your mind ticking over with further possibilities. It’s only the third non-fiction book I’ve read this year but I’m glad I made the time to do so.”
“This is one of the books that is going to be on my “must read” list. KW Jamieson connected the dots between brain, person, relationship, society and planet. The book explains so much about the time we live in and why we as human species ended up where we are. Without prescriptions the author points to a way forward as anyone of us might just contribute to reaching the tipping point to a more collaborative and peaceful world.”
“This is a must read book if you really care about the world we live in. Our world is broken and needs to change and the author pulls together lots of concepts and ideas in a very structured way and makes really good suggestions for progress. The book is well written and thought provoking. Well done. Superb work.”
5* Amazon reader reviews
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Outline Content
Part One – The Shifting Sands of the Human System: Our Self-inflicted Sickness, A War of Worldviews, The Process of Life
Part Two – The Modus Operandi of an Ancient Brain: The Power of Opposites, Leaping to Conclusions, Confabulating Coherence, Blending for Balance, Changing Structures
Part Three – Origins and Oscillations of a Global Mind: Source of the Western Psyche, Emergence of the Left Mind, Rise and Fall of Modernism
Part Four – Pitfalls and Possibilities at the Edge of Chaos: Cultivating Coherence, Elevating Consciousness, Counterbalancing Capitalism, Fast-Tracking Our Future
