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From one of America's most brilliant writers, a New York Times
bestselling journey through psychology, philosophy, and lots of
meditation to show how Buddhism holds the key to moral clarity and
enduring happiness. At the heart of Buddhism is a simple claim: The
reason we suffer-and the reason we make other people suffer-is that
we don't see the world clearly. At the heart of Buddhist meditative
practice is a radical promise: We can learn to see the world,
including ourselves, more clearly and so gain a deep and morally
valid happiness. In this "sublime" (The New Yorker), pathbreaking
book, Robert Wright shows how taking this promise seriously can
change your life-how it can loosen the grip of anxiety, regret, and
hatred, and how it can deepen your appreciation of beauty and of
other people. He also shows why this transformation works, drawing
on the latest in neuroscience and psychology, and armed with an
acute understanding of human evolution. This book is the
culmination of a personal journey that began with Wright's landmark
book on evolutionary psychology, The Moral Animal, and deepened as
he immersed himself in meditative practice and conversed with some
of the world's most skilled meditators. The result is a story that
is "provocative, informative and...deeply rewarding" (The New York
Times Book Review), and as entertaining as it is illuminating.
Written with the wit, clarity, and grace for which Wright is
famous, Why Buddhism Is True lays the foundation for a spiritual
life in a secular age and shows how, in a time of technological
distraction and social division, we can save ourselves from
ourselves, both as individuals and as a species.
From one of America's most brilliant writers, a New York Times
bestselling journey through psychology, philosophy, and lots of
meditation to show how Buddhism holds the key to moral clarity and
enduring happiness. At the heart of Buddhism is a simple claim: The
reason we suffer-and the reason we make other people suffer-is that
we don't see the world clearly. At the heart of Buddhist meditative
practice is a radical promise: We can learn to see the world,
including ourselves, more clearly and so gain a deep and morally
valid happiness. In this "sublime" (The New Yorker), pathbreaking
book, Robert Wright shows how taking this promise seriously can
change your life-how it can loosen the grip of anxiety, regret, and
hatred, and how it can deepen your appreciation of beauty and of
other people. He also shows why this transformation works, drawing
on the latest in neuroscience and psychology, and armed with an
acute understanding of human evolution. This book is the
culmination of a personal journey that began with Wright's landmark
book on evolutionary psychology, The Moral Animal, and deepened as
he immersed himself in meditative practice and conversed with some
of the world's most skilled meditators. The result is a story that
is "provocative, informative and...deeply rewarding" (The New York
Times Book Review), and as entertaining as it is illuminating.
Written with the wit, clarity, and grace for which Wright is
famous, Why Buddhism Is True lays the foundation for a spiritual
life in a secular age and shows how, in a time of technological
distraction and social division, we can save ourselves from
ourselves, both as individuals and as a species.
Does history matter any more? In an era when both the past and
memory seem to be sources of considerable interest and, frequently,
lively debate, has the academic discipline of history ceased to
offer the connection between past and present experience that it
was originally intended to provide? In short, has History become a
bridge to nowhere, a structure over a river whose course has been
permanently altered? This is the overarching question that the
contributors to The River of History : Trans-national and
Trans-disciplinary Perspectives on the Immanence of the Past seek
to answer. Drawn from a broad spectrum of scholarly disciplines,
the authors tackle a wide range of more specific questions touching
on this larger one. Does history, as it is practised in
universities, provide any useful context for the average Canadian
or has the task of historical consciousness-shaping passed to
filmmakers and journalists? What can the history of Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal conceptions of land and property tell us about
contemporary relations between these cultures? Is there a way to
own the past that fosters sincere stock-taking without proprietary
interest or rigid notions of linearity? And, finally, what does the
history of technological change suggest about humanity's ability to
manage the process now and in the future? The philosopher
Heraclitus once likened history to a river and argued for its
otherness by stating that "No man can cross the same river twice,
because neither the man nor the river is the same." This collection
reconsiders this conceptualization, taking the reader on a journey
along the river in an effort to better comprehend the ways in which
past, present, and future are interconnected. With Contributions
By: Jeffrey Scott Brown A.R. Buck Carol B. Duncan Peter Farrugia
James Gerrie Leo Groarke Stephen F.Haller John S. Hill John McLaren
M. Carleton Simpson Robert Wright Nancy E. Wright
In his bestselling The Moral Animal, Robert Wright applied the principles of evolutionary biology to the study of the human mind. Now Wright attempts something even more ambitious: explaining the direction of evolution and human history–and discerning where history will lead us next.
In Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny, Wright asserts that, ever since the primordial ooze, life has followed a basic pattern. Organisms and human societies alike have grown more complex by mastering the challenges of internal cooperation. Wright's narrative ranges from fossilized bacteria to vampire bats, from stone-age villages to the World Trade Organization, uncovering such surprises as the benefits of barbarian hordes and the useful stability of feudalism. Here is history endowed with moral significance–a way of looking at our biological and cultural evolution that suggests, refreshingly, that human morality has improved over time, and that our instinct to discover meaning may itself serve a higher purpose. Insightful, witty, profound, Nonzero offers breathtaking implications for what we believe and how we adapt to technology's ongoing transformation of the world.
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Following the Way of Jesus (Paperback)
Michael B. Curry; Contributions by Megan Castellan, Kellan Day, Nora Gallagher, Broderick Greer, …
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Save R72 (19%)
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The New Church's Teaching series has been one of the most
recognizable and useful sets of books in The Episcopal Church. With
the launch of the Church's Teachings for a Changing World series,
visionary Episcopal thinkers and leaders have teamed up to write a
new set of books, grounded and thoughtful enough for seminarians
and leaders, concise and accessible enough for newcomers, with a
host of discussion resources that help readers to dig deep. Michael
Curry leads off this volume with a clarion call for Episcopalians
to join the Jesus Movement. A team of the church's brightest stars
follow up with reflections on the practice of ministry in light of
the movement: Nora Gallagher on encountering the "other," Rob
Wright on adaptive leadership, Broderick Greer on reconciliation,
Anthony Guillen on new ministries, Megan Castellan on evangelism,
and Kellan Day on ministry with young people. Michael Curry closes
with a word on making the world whole. Christians have been
following Jesus together for some 2000 years - these leaders help
to illuminate how we follow him in our time.
In this work, Robert Wright examines a science that has emerged
from the work of evolutionary biologists and social scientists.
Taking the life and work of the evolutionist Charles Darwin as his
context, Wright seeks to demonstrate how Darwin's ideas have stood
the test of time and retells - from the perspective of evolutionary
psychology - the stories of Darwin's marriage, family, life and
career. From this paradigm, Wright draws conclusions about the
structure of our most basic preoccupations - sex, ambition,
politics, justice - aiming to throw light on the background of
these fundamental instincts, and to show why they are so important
to us. The work poses questions about not only the biological bases
for morality, but also the biological bases for amorality.
The Indigenous nations of the valley of the Rio Grande that is now
centred upon Ojinaga, Chihuahua, and Presidio, Texas--the La Junta
valley in colonial times—had a long and unique history with
Hispanics during the colonial period.Their valley was the initial
route to New Mexico and West Texas explored by Spanish
conquistadors in the 1500s. In the mid-1600s, the Juntans began
engaging in long-distance migrant labour in Nueva Vizcaya, and in
the 1680s they began inviting Franciscan missionaries and serving
as important military allies to Hispanic troops. Yet for
seventy-five years only the missionaries, without any Hispanic
military or civilians, lived among them, due to both the remoteness
of their valley from Hispanic settlements and the Juntans'
insistence upon their autonomy. This is unique in Spanish colonial
annals on the northern frontier of New Spain. This detailed
research study adds much new information and many corrections to
the rare previous studies.
In this sweeping narrative that takes us from the Stone Age to the
Information Age, Robert Wright unveils an astonishing discovery:
there is a hidden pattern that the great monotheistic faiths have
followed as they have evolved. Through the prisms of archaeology,
theology, and evolutionary psychology, Wright's findings overturn
basic assumptions about Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and are
sure to cause controversy. He explains why spirituality has a role
today, and why science, contrary to conventional wisdom, affirms
the validity of the religious quest. And this previously
unrecognized evolutionary logic points not toward continued
religious extremism, but future harmony. Nearly a decade in the
making, The Evolution of God is a breathtaking re-examination of
the past, and a visionary look forward.
A collection of readings selected from early Christian writers to
accompany the 453 liturgical days in the Daily Office Lectionary of
The Book of Common Prayer. This serves as an excellent introductory
course in the theology of the early Church as well as a way to
deepen one's understanding of the Church's doctrinal tradition
based in Holy Scripture.
In a book sure to stir argument for years to come, Robert Wright challen+ges the conventional view that biological evolution and human history are aimless. Ingeniously employing game theory – the logic of ‘zero-sum’ and ‘non-zero-sum’ games – Wright isolates the impetus behind life’s basic direction: the impetus that, via biological evolution, created complex, intelligent animals, and then via cultural evolution, pushed the human species towards deeper and vaster social complexity. In this view, the coming of today’s independent global society was ‘in the cards’ – not quite inevitable, but, as Wright puts it, ‘so probable as to inspire wonder’. In a narrative of breathtaking scope and erudition, yet pungent wit, Wright takes on some of the past century’s most prominent thinkers, including Isaiah Berlin, Karl Popper, Stephen Jay Gould, and Richard Dawkins. Wright argues that a coolly specific appraisal of humanity’s three-billion-year past can give new spiritual meaning to the present and even offer political guidance for the future. This book will change the way people think about the human prospect.
Today's financial crisis is the result of dismal failures on the
part of regulators, market analysts, and corporate executives. Yet
the response of the American government has been to bail out the
very institutions and individuals that have wrought such havoc upon
the nation. Are such massive bailouts really called for? Can they
succeed?
Robert E. Wright and his colleagues provide an unbiased history
of government bailouts and a frank assessment of their
effectiveness. Their book recounts colonial America's struggle to
rectify the first dangerous real estate bubble and the British
government's counterproductive response. It explains how Alexander
Hamilton allowed central banks and other lenders to bail out
distressed but sound businesses without rewarding or encouraging
the risky ones. And it shows how, in the second half of the
twentieth century, governments began to bail out distressed
companies, industries, and even entire economies in ways that
subsidized risk takers while failing to reinvigorate the economy.
By peering into the historical uses of public money to save private
profit, this volume suggests better ways to control risk in the
future.
Additional Columbia / SSRC books on the privatization of risk
and its implications for Americans:
Health at Risk: America's Ailing Health System--and How to Heal
ItEdited by Jacob S. Hacker
Laid Off, Laid Low: Political and Economic Consequences of
Employment InsecurityEdited by Katherine S. Newman
Pensions, Social Security, and the Privatization of RiskEdited
by Mitchell A. Orenstein
In this unique, well-illustrated book, readers learn how fifty
financial corporations came to dominate the U.S. banking system and
their impact on the nation's political, social, and economic
growth. A story that spans more than two centuries of war, crisis,
and opportunity, this account reminds readers that American banking
was never a fixed enterprise but has evolved in tandem with the
country. More than 225 years have passed since Alexander Hamilton
created one of the nation's first commercial banks. Over time,
these institutions have changed hands, names, and locations,
reflecting a wave of mergers, acquisitions, and other restructuring
efforts that echo changes in American finance. Some names, such as
Bank of America and Wells Fargo, will be familiar to readers. The
origins of others, including Zions Bancorporation, founded by
Brigham Young and owned by the Mormon Church until 1960, are
surprising. Exploring why some banks failed and others thrived,
this book wonders, in light of the 2008 financial crisis, whether
recent consolidations have reached or even exceeded economically
rational limits. A key text for navigating the complex terrain of
American finance, this volume draws a fascinating family tree for
projecting the financial future of a nation.
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