Crisis and Renewal of Civilizations: The 21st Century Crisis of Ideas and Character (Focus on Civilizations and Cultures)

This book expands on the primary assumption that the human brain is a sense and purpose producing organ; we use it to understand and guide us through chaotic realities in order to impact the course of events and ourselves. Humanity's future will be a direct result of what our brains permit us to do, and this is the reason why understanding how the brain functions is so important to promote its best utilisation. We need to learn how to better benefit from the human brain's innate tendency to establish new connections, which could promote flights of creativity and imagination. A unique feature of the human brain is that it is both diversified and united, allowing for a variety of sensory and expressive functions and, at the same time, for cohesive and purposeful behavior. Our mind's cohesiveness breaks down in the brain's pathological conditions, or in conditions of severe stress and deprivation. Examples of crisis observed throughout history can be understood as a projection by our collective mind of pathological states on reality. Put simply, the human mind is unable to make sense of circumstances to assure stability and continuity. It is obvious that we struggle both to separate and unify ourselves, and that every war or social disruption ultimately ends in peace and the temporary restoration of order and stability.