Introduction
This is a book about the Why of things-that territory of
life we're forbidden to enter. I wrote it to show why life is so lifeless
for so many people, why meaning has been so difficult to find, and what to
do about it if you want to. Mankind's search for meaning has been a long,
frustrating journey that began shortly after the rise of civilization. Now
that we are beginning to understand complex systems, we're finding that
civilization itself, as we have defined it, is the major
obstacle to finding meaning in life. Finding meaning in life requires
having a systems view of it, because the things of life are
systems. We talk about them. We refer to systems of government, systems of
communication, ecological systems, systems of business, systems of
thinking-but most of us have a linear view, not a systems view, of
systems. That's why they have no meaning to us.
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Contents
| Preface |
v |
| Acknowledgments |
vii |
| Introduction |
xi |
| Part I: The System |
1 |
|
Chaper One: Good Stuff/Big
Trouble |
3 |
|
Chapter Two: The Basics of
Systems |
17 |
|
Chapter Three: The Lifecycle
of Social Systems |
37 |
|
Chapter Four: How We Got Where We Are Today in the
U.S.A |
59 |
| Part II: The Person |
71 |
|
Chapter Five: The Person in The System |
73 |
|
Chapter Six: Mind over Matter |
89 |
| Part III: Changing the System |
101 |
|
Chapter Seven: The Spirit of the System |
103 |
|
Chapter Eight: "Grok"-ing the Other |
117 |
|
Chapter Nine: The Integrative Organization Everybody's
a Designer |
137 |
|
Chapter Ten: Our Hope for the Future |
157 |
| Conclusion |
173 |
| Author Contact |
174 |
| Bibliography |
175 |
