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The Fall:the Insanity of the Ego in Human History and the Dawning of a New Era: The Insanity of the Ego in Human History and the Dawning of a New Era

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Author: Steve Taylor
Publisher: O Books
Category: Book

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Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars

10 reviews
Sales Rank: 11389

Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.4 x 1

ISBN: 1905047207
Dewey Decimal Number: 909
EAN: 9781905047208
ASIN: 1905047207

Publication Date: October 13, 2005
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Condition: Will ship in 24 hours. Book in great condition.Will be shipped in bubble mailer.

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Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

The only history of the world you'll need to know... April 12, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful

Truly eye opening stuff, if the genesis in the bible deals with the "why" (as is the case with religion) then this is the history behind it. An all encompassing history of the world that'll make you see things in a new light, how sad and messed up humans have become, and what needs to happen to save our race. Very compelling read, though sometimes it dips a little too much into the spiritual side of things and may come across as biased rather than pure research. They should make this compulsory reading at schools instead of nonsense such as creation theory.

5 out of 5 stars

A life-changing read February 2, 2008
15 out of 16 found this review helpful

This is one of the very best books that I have ever read. Whilst I don't always agree with everything he says, and there is a sense at times that he is selecting the evidence to fit his theories, the overall arguments of the book just feel profoundly right. It is like having something confirmed that you knew was right at some deep, almost unconscious level. The world seems very different afterwards. Fantastic stuff, and hugely readable. A must-read book.

5 out of 5 stars

"The Fall" is an important book November 19, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful

This is an important book which deserves to be read widely.

If we are to overcome the present crisis of civilization, it is vital that we understand its deep causes, and find ways to negate them. The Fall by Steve Taylor is a significant step in that direction. There can be no doubt that humanity has created its own predicament, and that we need look no further than our own behaviour to see how. The big questions, however, are why we continue to act in such foolish and destructive ways, and how can we change those ways in the short time remaining before disaster strikes. Solutions based on expert knowledge in fields such as economics, law and technology do not cut deep enough. The root causes lie in the human psyche, and it is there we must look for answers.

The evidence now seems overwhelming that, following the last Ice Age, human society was peaceful, non-acquisitive, egalitarian and closely connected with the Spirit of nature. Then, about 6000 years ago, the majority of humanity switched from what Riane Eisler called Partnership cultures to the violent, hierarchical, acquisitive, disconnected Dominator cultures that still persist today. It is almost certainly no accident that this switch coincided with a severe drying of the climate right across north Africa, southern Europe, the middle East and Asia - a region that Steve Taylor calls Saharasia. He documents this case in meticulous detail, including much evidence from modern indigenous societies that escaped what he terms The Fall.

Taylor argues that the survival challenges presented by increasing aridity stimulated intellectual ability and technical creativity. This was accompanied by an enhanced awareness of our own individuality or, in other words, a great explosion of ego consciousness. Less beneficial side-effects included existential loneliness and fear of death, a loss of connection with nature, and the distracting mind-chatter with which we're all too familiar.

As we became focused more inwardly, so our outward focus on our community and environment weakened. And as we separated from nature, we lost our ability to empathize with other beings, including other humans. In our efforts to escape the fear of death, we began to acquire goods and seek status. These in turn led to oppression of other peoples, gender inequality, mistreatment of children and nature, and dissociation from our bodies and sexuality. Paradoxically, it also led to war and an increased risk of violent death!

The broad outlines of this account were familiar to me, although Taylor included welcome details. Also familiar was the story of the `First Wave' of recovery represented by the rise of spiritual traditions such as Buddhism and Taoism. What was less familiar was Steve Taylor's powerful depiction of the upsurge of the Second Wave of new consciousness beginning in the mid-18th century. This has pushed the pendulum back in many ways, leading to the abolition of slavery, emancipation of women, human rights, animal rights, social security, the environmental movement, and more. It is all too easy to lose sight of the sheer scale of this counter-movement amongst the doom and gloom of the daily news. However, as Taylor recognises, despite its rapid growth, this movement is still too weak to challenge seriously the dominant `fallen' culture, as he calls it.

Ultimately, however, Taylor brings a message of hope. He challenges us all to transcend the ego and integrate the intellectual brilliance it has given us with the intense connectedness and aliveness that spiritual practices can bring us. He challenges us to make a difference to the world by transforming ourselves through meditation and the pragmatic activities of service, living lightly and promoting social change. He presents a vision of a possible future in which there is "no war ..., male domination and social inequality, no shame of sex or the body, and no domination of other species and the natural world."

In many ways, Steve Taylor's message is similar to my own in The Science of Oneness, although our paths to this point are very different. More recently, however, I find myself asking if there are still deeper causes, and a wider choice of transformative actions. To Steve Taylor's promotion of the meditative path, I would add the transformative potential of resurgent shamanism, the nature mysticism of `deep ecology', a plethora of `New Age' spiritual paths, and myriad new healing therapies.

With regard to the last, I'm currently exploring the role of trauma in human affairs, and believe this may be another root cause of our problems. The desiccation 6000 years ago would have caused severe trauma to those ancient peoples. Desperate for food and water they would have readily become aggressive to their neighbours, thus adding the trauma of violence to the scene. Once begun, such violence would have been self-perpetuating as the trauma was passed from generation to generation. We need look no further than recent history to see how this works. Traumatised veterans of the First and Second World Wars, Viet Nam, and now Iraq have in turn traumatised their families and children. Such traumas echo down the generations as we've seen in Northern Ireland, Kosovo and many other trouble spots. And we're busy creating more traumas today, not only through war, but in many other ways as well. I would argue that the prevention and healing of trauma is a vital transformative action.

Written in clear, lucid prose, this book is easy to read and Taylor's sources are well referenced for those who want to dig deeper. I strongly recommend it.

Malcolm Hollick
(Author of The Science of Oneness: A worldview for the twenty-first century)

5 out of 5 stars

excellent book October 27, 2007
17 out of 19 found this review helpful

This is one of the most outstanding and fascintating books I have ever read. I can see that Eckhart Tolle's book 'the power of now' is based on it.Absolutely fantastic, a must read.

5 out of 5 stars

makes you see the world in a different way October 23, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This books attempts something remarkable - a complete overview of human history and cultural development throughout the world and a psychological examination of why human beings have developed in the way we have. The author has very interesting explanations for why human beings developed warfare, male domination, monotheistic religion and so forth. His theory is difficult to summarise but suggests that the root cause is our 'over-developed ego', which makes us view ourselves in separation from other people and nature, and makes it difficult for us to empathise with others. There's so much in the book that as soon as I'd finished I started flicking through it again, going over certain passages. This book really does make you see the world in a different light. It makes you understand the human race's terrible past, but at the same time gives some hope for the future. A major achievement.