Historically speaking, new worldviews have been responsible for causing major social transformations, says futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard. It occurred in the Renaissance when the idea of progress through knowledge was born. It happened in the United States when the principles of democracy and freedom became institutions. “Now once again a new world view is arising,” writes Hubbard. “This idea is the culmination of all human history. It holds the promise of fulfilling the great aspirations of the past and heralds the advent of the next phase of our evolution. It is the idea of conscious evolution.”
Human beings have now gained the ability to shape their own evolution, explains Hubbard, and therefore the next world task is to become conscious of this power and guide the earth and all its inhabitants into survival and fulfillment of our potential. Born out of the new spirituality, which began as a path toward self- awareness, but has quickly spread into a “social potential movement,” Hubbard predicts that the ideology of “conscious evolution” will be seen as a pivotal turning point in human history, leading us into an era of heightened creativity, environmental accountability, and spiritual development.
Her message is steeped in intelligent writing and persuasive research. But most enticing, she writes as an optimist as well as a visionary. Rather than buy into the “old story” of imminent self-destruction, Hubbard sees the potential for humanity to create a “new story” that melds all our advances–spiritual, scientific, and social–into a glorious vision for the future. –Gail Hudson
Customer Reviews
Tired, hackneyed “modernism”:
This book really does not hold up well in today’s world. Full of late 1990s exuberance, it adheres to the mantra that progress in the form of technology is going to save us — a precept with which I wholeheartedly disagree. In my opinion a waste of time.
A useful resource for a changing world:
I found this book to be a very useful survey of the apparently large numbers of people who are seeking solutions for a more equitable world. Looking at our future through the lens of evolution and taking the long view tends to show us that evolutionary trends rooted in negentropic or the anti-entropic forces of a multi-dimensional universe are having a profound affect and subsequent effect on the thinking of many people. My only disagreement with the book is that it fails to dialogue with one of the most important negentropic forces available to humankind–the power of virtue or human excellence. Imagine talking about conscious evolution and not one word about virtue or even self-restraint. Despite these notable omissions, this book is an excellent resource for anyone thinking about the future.
Sean O’Reilly, author of How to Manage Your DIC K: Redirect Sexual Energy and Discover Your More Spiritually Enlightened, Evolved Self
It eventually gets there:
The first 100 or so pages of this book nearly sent it to my shelf for good. I’ve never known somebody to find as many different ways to say the same thing over and over and over and over again. With each paragraph ending upbeat and inspiring, I was like “Okay, now here’s where we get into the meat and potatoes”. But we wouldn’t. I started uttering about this new agey fluff being worthless. But by the time I finished reading it, I have to say it was good.
Of course, the core messages in the book are critical to us. They speak of a visionary truth both past and future that we all need to recognize. So, skim if you have to, but make it to the second half of the book. That’s when she stops pontificating about loving the vast cosmos and starts pointing the book in a direction. But be wary that the ideas she suggests are her own legacy. They’re a wonderful start and I believe are designed only to be a launching point, so don’t feel bound to them as the only way through this mess of civilization we’ve created.
Futurism and Nonsense:
Barbara Marx Hubbard is a flawed visionary, like many in the human potential and “New Age” movements. She combines transpersonal insight with prerational garbage. She spouts about her revolutionary new political program, but says little of substance. In one breath, she supports genetic engineering, nanotechnology, and space colonization- and in another she damns the infrastructure necessary to make these advancements possible.
Conscious Evolution is, to be completely honest, a substanceless mess. Hubbard can’t seem to get across any semblence of a message without resorting to quoting another book- typically with quotes that are of a declaratory rather than factual nature. The writing is poor and lacks depth. Although there are good ideas within (the “Peace Room”, SYNCON, etc.) one must read through pages of fluff in order to get there.
Rather than waste your time with this book, take a look at some of Hubbard’s sources, such as K. Eric Drexler or Ken Wilber. Your time and money will be much better spent.
Too many big words:
I have a lot of trouble to get through this book: to me it is just a long list of “grand” statements and visions being poned without much of a logic structure. Well, I guess it is a good thing many people are inspired by it. Maybe I am too much a male, or too Dutch (van dik hout..)
