The 5th Narrative: Contents

Content Table of The Fifth Narrative; The Wiser Ascent of Icarus.

Excerpts published online are linked below

Content Table

• Acknowldgement:
• Prologue
• Introduction:

Part I: The four main Narratives:

Chapter I: The Religious Narrative.

• Were the first interpretations of the harsh, indifferent world the cradle of the Religious Narrative?
• The essence of Religious Narratives:
• Why do we tend to believe in something which is so hard to verify?
• The monotheistic religion’s dilemma: Job and God.
• Religion and fundementalism in the postmodern world:
• The wars of God?
• New Age religious message:
• “Neuro Theology” and the Question of Where God is:
• Does God hide out in space?
• Human psychology conveyed through the religious narrative:
• Religious mysticism and human psychology:
• The psychology of the religious man and escapism:
• Pros and Cons of the Religious Narrative:
• A new role?

Chapter II: The scientific Narrative:

• The beginnings of the Scientific Narrative:
• The great Creators of the Scientific Narrative:
• The beginning of life -zigzagging nature:
• The beginning of life
• In our time…
• The human factor in this Narrative:
• The Narrative’s lack of unwavering spirituality:
• Is there an end station for scientific knowledge?
• Potential dangers for us in following this narrative:

Chapter III: The Narrative of the “Crooked World” and Human Futility.

• The essence of the pessimistic narrative: Nihilism.
• The Psychological Gains of Daily Nada:
• What then is the narrative’s survival value?
• Human stupidity as the reason for life’s futility:
• Voluntary extinction: Another escape from the meaningless life and human futility:
• Other scenarios?
• Shortcomings and life-affirming elements in the Narrative of the Crooked World and human Folly:

Chapter IV: The Almost Perfect “Sweet Shop”: Capitalist Democracy.

• The Almost Perfect “Sweet Shop”: Capitalist Democracy
• Democracy’s kernel: Enlightenment
• The Pursuit of Freedom
• The Quest for Becoming Unique
• The Narrative’s Backbone: The Pursuit of Economic Expansion as the Fuel of Emancipation.
• The Narrative’s Pursuit of Happiness
• The Story Teller of this Narrative, the Mass Media: Is it a Guardian Angel or a Potential Trojan Horse?
• The Democratic Dialogue:
• Modernity and its Excesses:
• Modernity and depression.
• Time, anxiety and depression
• Hyper Humanism:
• The Narrative’s Cornerstone: Tolerance
• Psychological Traps in this Narrative
• The Kvetcher Personality
• Democracy and Religion
• Statesmen, Heroes and Glorious Goals?
• Are the Barbarians Coming? -
• The Future Perspective of The Sweet Shop Narrative
• Summary

Part II: The Fifth Narrative: The Wiser Ascent of Icarus.

Chapter V: Why a New Narrative is needed:

• Why a New Narrative is needed
• The main cause of human suffering: our acquired Folly
• Human folly: Bug or feature?
• The essence of human folly: Self-deception
• Human tilting towards slave mentality
• The Seven Perils / Seven Challenges
• A statement

Chapter VI: A new Narrative; The Wiser Ascent of Icarus.

• First step: Farsighted knowledge and advanced thinking as a driving force for further human evolution.
  • What is wisdom and farsighted knowledge.
  • How such knowledge can be acquired: teaching children to become mindful.
  • Meaning Attaining Psychology for Intelligent Life (MAPIL).
  • Five categories of human needs.
  • Life Value: Historical and psychological perspectives
  • MAPIL and modifying Homo sapiens:
• Second step: The emergence of global civilisation: A Global New Deal and Governance:
  • But why do we need a global civilization, governance and a New Deal?
  • What action can be taken to promote a Global New Deal?
  • The Global New Deal: Global rights and obligations.
  • Global Healthcare: What is it supposed to cover?
  • Third step: The transcendence of our species into wiser and more far-sighted beings.
  • The essence of life.
  • What is thus the end station of intelligent Life form?
  • Potentially ill consequences:
  • Summary
• Fourth step: The Space-time Odyssey: The Search for God and the aspiration for attaining grand meaning and mastery.
  • Can intelligent life escape the end of the universe?
  • Asimov´s solution

Conclusion: Wean yourself.

• Epilogue
• Timeline:
• Glossary:
• References: