Thanks Francis. I will put in a couple of links to the ECCO page this weekend.
John Quoting Francis Heylighen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > Congratulations, John! > > John Stewart (our "remote" ECCO member, John lives in Australia) has > made his book "EVOLUTION'S ARROW: The direction of evolution and the > future of humanity" available via the Amazon webshop, where readers > can submit reviews. There are only two reviews until now, but they > both give the book top marks, as you can see below. > > I too wish to emphasize that John's work is very important for our > whole ECCO approach, and I would recommend it to all. Specifically > for Nathalie I would add that John's view of the evolution of > cooperation is related to Lynn Margulis' theory of symbiogenesis, but > in my impression it is both wider (not just biology but also the > social sciences) and deeper (by analysing the general mechanism that > drives symbiotic bonding). > > The book can be freely downloaded at > http://www4.tpg.com.au/users/jes999/ or otherwise ordered via the > Amazon link below. > > John, by the way, perhaps you can make a link from your page back to > the ECCO page: http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/EVOLCOMP/ ? Like that, we can > drive visitors to each others' publications... > > > Francis > > ------ > > > Reviewer: Copthorne Macdonald (Charlottetown, Prince Edward > Island Canada) > > When I first read Evolution's Arrow in 2001, John Stewart's analysis > of the human situation and its relationship to evolutionary processes > impressed me greatly. In my own writing since then I have quoted > passages from his book and commented favorably on his view of things. > It is a book rich in important insights that can help humanity deal > with its present multi-problem predicament. [...] > > I can here only hint at the insightful gold that resides between the > covers of Evolution's Arrow. Whether your interest is a clearer > understanding of evolution, or saving evolution's experiment here on > earth from today's human mis-management, get and read this book. > > > Reviewer: Michael Dowd (Pleasant Hill, TN USA) > > Over the last decade or so I have read dozens of excellent books > related to science and religion, sustainability, the epic of > evolution, and the future of humanity.[...] Evolution's Arrow, by > John Stewart, is one of the wisest, most insightful, and most > inspiring I've ever encountered. I devoured it twice in the last week. > > To tell the truth, I simply cannot speak too highly of this book. My > hunch is that at the end of my life I'll still rate Evolution's Arrow > as one of the most significant books I've ever read. > > Stewart's thesis is simple: The universe is going somewhere, there's > a direction to evolution, and this has major consequences for > humanity. Without resorting to teleology, Stewart argues that > wherever life emerges in the cosmos, evolution will progress in the > direction of greater cooperation and complexity at ever increasing > scale and evolvability. Why cooperate? Because in a cosmos where > natural selection is a primary driver of evolution, those who > cooperate, whether they be molecules, cells, organisms, or societies, > will outcompete those who do not. Cooperative organizations are more > competitive and adaptable than non-cooperative organizations, if, > that is, the system is "managed" in such a way as to ensure that > cooperators benefit from their cooperating and non-cooperators pay > for their non-cooperating. Without management, or governance, > freeloaders and cheats will typically outcompete and out-reproduce > cooperators. But where management - effective governance - can ensure > that the system captures the results of cooperating and > non-cooperating, evolution will produce cooperative organizations out > of self-interested individuals and continue doing so at ever wider > scale and adaptability. [...] > > Others, of course (Aurobindo, Teilhard, de Rosnay, Wright, Russell, > Hubbard, and Wilber come to mind) have said similar things. What > makes Stewart's contribution unique, and invaluable, is both the > clarity of his argument and, especially, his vision of where and how > humanity needs to change in order to align with and embody the > evolutionary impulse. His chapter on creating a "vertical market" for > models of effective global governance is worth the price of the book > in itself. His vision of how to organizationally move into the > future, both individually and collectively, is both alluring and > compelling. > > Some readers may find irritating the author's habit of repetition, > but I was grateful. By the time I closed the book, his main points > had become so much my own that I can trust they will not disappear as > a passing enthusiasm. > > Evolution's Arrow is both mind-expanding and trust building. If I had > to recommend reading only one book on evolution and the future of > humanity, I'd suggest this one. It rocks! > > --- > > Read the full reviews at: > http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0646394975/evolutiosarro-20 > -- > > Francis Heylighen > Center "Leo Apostel" > Free University of Brussels > http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/HEYL.html
