The Evolving Self (Paperback)

by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (Author) "Each year we learn more about the incredible complexity of our universe..." (more)
Key Phrases: evolutionary cell, psychic entropy, much psychic energy, United States, World War, Key School (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In this wise, humane inquiry, Csikszentmihalyi ( Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience ) argues that genetically programmed behaviors that once helped humans adapt and multiply now threaten our survival. These traits include obsessions with food and sex, addiction to pleasure, excessive rationality and a tendency to focus on the negative. A University of Chicago psychology professor, the author also believes we must free our minds of cultural illusions such as ethnocentric superiority or identification with one's possessions. He urges readers to find ways to reduce the oppression, exploitation and inequality that are woven into the fabric of society. Further, he wants us to control the direction of human evolution by pursuing challenging activities that lead to greater complexity while opposting chaos and conformity. Each chapter concludes with self-help questions and mental exercises designed to help readers apply the insights of this literate manifesto to their daily lives.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
This title aims to provide "a deeper understanding of the direction in which life on earth has been going, and hence a clearer sense of what the meaning of one's own life might be." The author believes that becoming an active, conscious part of the evolutionary process can give our lives meaning and joy. In fact, the fate of humanity in the next millennium depends on the kind of selves we become today. An interesting feature of this book is the space provided at the end of each chapter for readers to jot down their thoughts about the issues covered, though libraries might find this problematic. Csikszentmihalyi goes beyond the psychobabble and traces human behavior from the beginning of time and shows with great clarity why we do the things we do. Most general readers may find it too "deep." Recommended for libraries with a solid psychology collection.
- Belinda J. Pugh, Kings Bay Base Lib., Ga.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (June 3, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060921927
• ISBN-13: 978-0060921927
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #116,292 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE first book to start understanding who you are, August 24, 1998

By	James G. Clawson (Charlottesville, Virginia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

While "everyperson" might not find this entertaining reading, I think this book is the first one I would/will give my children as they try to become adults. It ought to be required reading for every adult in every culture, especially those who think they're "right." Csikszentmihalyi's insight and ability to weave a powerful story from myriad perspectives is simply awesome. We may think we are "people" but until we understand the interconnection of our genetic heritage and our mimetic heritage, and develop our own sense of flow in the world, we are little more than reproductions of other (dead) people's thinking. The concepts of memes and complexity and the invitation to become a transcender ranks Csikszentmihalyi right along side Carl Rogers as the most informed about how we can become truly individual, contributing human beings. Don't miss this book!

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some Wheat, Some Chaff, March 30, 1999

By A Customer

Oh, I don't know. I think C. has some important points to make about the role that genetic and cultural influences have in shaping our unconscious, and, hence, our decisions about our lives. But I think he needs to go back to the drawing board on some of his analysis of "self." Many of the features that he attributes to the self, are, in my opinion, also generated at the genetic/cultural, and more importantly, familial (i.e. early childhood) levels, not the absolutes that he claims. (Although I really liked his idea of the self as both a manifestation of our awareness, and its director.) I also liked the "flow" stuff. I think he is on to something there, the need for involvement and challenge and discovery. But I was not nuts about his semi-proselytizing tone, and the idea of directed evolution. I'm not sorry I read it, but it does feel to me like he is only half way to where he thinks he is, and where he wants to be. Which is a pretty cool place.

31 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good reading for people who want to make a difference., December 29, 1999

By	Adam Khan (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I enjoy Csikszentmihalyi's work. His name is pronounced chick-ZENT-me-high. He is a good writer, a brilliant and original researcher at the University of Chicago, and his work has great practical value. I love his examples of how leaders at certain times and places have given order to a chaotic world, and how he translates that into how WE can bring order into OUR chaotic world.

Csikszentmihalyi's work is about work itself: How to make it enjoyable. And beyond that, how can we bring a sense of meaning into our lives? How can our work become more meaningful and more enjoyable? He explores it well.

I am the author of the book, Self-Help Stuff That Works, and I am an expert on practical self-help. Csikszentmihalyi's work is practical. I recommend this book.