The Heart of History

Individuality in Evolution

By John Weir Perry

Subjects: Transpersonal Psychology
Series: SUNY series in Transpersonal and Humanistic Psychology
Paperback : 9780887064005, 249 pages, July 1987
Hardcover : 9780887063992, 249 pages, July 1987
Out of print (Paperback)
Out of print (Hardcover)

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Table of contents

Preface

I. Myth, Ritual, and Visions

1 The Psyche and the Evolution of Cultures

2 Lo! They Beheld

3 World Images in Turmoil and Transition

II. Cultural Transitions

4 A Legacy of Pharaohs

5 Sages and Sons of Heaven

6 Kingship and Compassion

7 Agape and Anointed Ones

8 Quests and a Kingdom of the Heart

9 Revolution and World Regeneration

III. Conclusions for Our Times

10 Individuality in Evolution

11 Modern Myth and Nuclear Nemesis

12 Ahead

Reference Notes

Bibliography

Author Index

Subject Index

This book is about the psychology of acute culture change based on the historical antecedents of such events. It focuses on the spiritual process and the social circumstances of stressful turning points.

Description

In a broad perspective of psychological, historical, and evolutionary considerations, Perry investigates factors that enable cultures in crisis to reorganize. He pursues historical antecedents of cataclysmic times, focusing on man's relation to his spiritual center and his societal setting. He shows clearly the parallelism of processes of transformation in psyche and society, citing historical examples in which the unbalanced assertion of individuality and dominance has been countered through the emergence of compassionate social concern.

John Weir Perry is a Jungian Psychotherapist and a leading transpersonal theorist. His degree is from Harvard Medical School. This is his fourth book.