The Evolving Self Chapter 9 Discussion: The Flow of History | Flow Book Club

Join us as we continue with our exploration of flow, reading Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s Flow sequel: The Evolving Self: A Psychology for the Third Millennium (1993).

In the introduction, MC points out “...it is difficult to build a happy life by the simple addition of a series of flow experiences. The whole in this case is definitely more than the sum of its parts”. Beyond just a number of flow experiences, what is needed is “…a system of meanings that gives purpose to one’s being”.

MC explains, “Flow ended with the proposition that by understanding better our evolutionary past we might generate the grounds for a viable meaning system, a faith that can give order and purpose to our lives in the future. To know ourselves is the greatest achievement of our species. And to understand ourselves – what we are made of, what motives drive us, and what goals we dream of – involves first of all our evolutionary past. Only on this foundation can we build a stable, meaningful future.” That is the project of this book.

Chapter 9: The Flow of History

“We can all readily agree that we need to build social systems that are just and complex – even transcendent. But how do we go about accomplishing this?” This question is what we explore in this chapter as we build upon the previous chapter, which examined how to build a transcendent self, to now consider how to build a transcendent society. MC gives us a clue “But the task of a good society is not to enshrine the creative solutions of the past into permanent solutions; it is, rather, to make it possible for creativity to keep asserting itself.

Topics: “Flow and the Evolution of Technology” “Flow and Historical Change” “The Good Society” “Creating a Good Society” “Educating for the Good Society”

Music:

“Ask Me Why” by Matthew Billman and K. Joia Houheneka

This discussion is done in partnership with the Meetup group 52 Living Ideas.

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