Review of Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature
Posted: 19 Sep 2021, 08:13
[Following is a volunteer review of "Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature" by Chet Shupe.]
Over the last few decades we have seen an alarming rise in the rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide. These conditions affect people regardless of age, wealth, education, or geographcal location. What has gone wrong with the world, and more importantly, how can we fix it?
In his book Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature, Chet Shupe explores the disconnect between humanity's emotions and civilization's institutionalization. Once upon a time, people were able to live in the moment. They followed what Shupe refers to as the Law of Life: to serve life, do things that feel good, and avoid doing things that result in emotional pain. When people served their emotions and lived in interconnected social communities, they were happier. Simple as that. Their focus was on what felt good in the moment, not worrying about the future. Once language was introduced to humanity, people began worrying about the future, and therefore laws were applied to help manage the future. With those laws came human separation and the problems that came with it.
I personally found this book to be a very difficult read. While Shupe does present some valid points about how laws can confine humanity, he does not use scientific evidence to back it up. His thesis is that the only way to save ourselves is to return to being “noble savages,” ruled by emotion rather than any codified conduct. This may be a comforting theory, but again, there is little evidence to support it. Nor is there a good way to demolish civilization as we now know it to return to this simpler way of life that Shupe idealizes. My main problem during reading was how repetitive I found the text. It was essentially giving the same message but written in slightly different ways without giving new information.
There is a slight religious bias in Shupe's writing, which may detract from the book for some readers. He makes some Biblical references, including one identified misquote. At one point, Shupe states that the crucifiction of Jesus was not about spiritual redemption but was actually a statement against government's destruction of humanity. In that light, some of the writing in Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature may be offensive to people with Christian ideals. However, Shupe is very supportive of Jesus' underlying message to care for the people around us in the spirit of community.
Overall, I was not impressed with this book. It was monotonous and repetitive. I would give it only 1 out of 4 stars.
******
Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Over the last few decades we have seen an alarming rise in the rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide. These conditions affect people regardless of age, wealth, education, or geographcal location. What has gone wrong with the world, and more importantly, how can we fix it?
In his book Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature, Chet Shupe explores the disconnect between humanity's emotions and civilization's institutionalization. Once upon a time, people were able to live in the moment. They followed what Shupe refers to as the Law of Life: to serve life, do things that feel good, and avoid doing things that result in emotional pain. When people served their emotions and lived in interconnected social communities, they were happier. Simple as that. Their focus was on what felt good in the moment, not worrying about the future. Once language was introduced to humanity, people began worrying about the future, and therefore laws were applied to help manage the future. With those laws came human separation and the problems that came with it.
I personally found this book to be a very difficult read. While Shupe does present some valid points about how laws can confine humanity, he does not use scientific evidence to back it up. His thesis is that the only way to save ourselves is to return to being “noble savages,” ruled by emotion rather than any codified conduct. This may be a comforting theory, but again, there is little evidence to support it. Nor is there a good way to demolish civilization as we now know it to return to this simpler way of life that Shupe idealizes. My main problem during reading was how repetitive I found the text. It was essentially giving the same message but written in slightly different ways without giving new information.
There is a slight religious bias in Shupe's writing, which may detract from the book for some readers. He makes some Biblical references, including one identified misquote. At one point, Shupe states that the crucifiction of Jesus was not about spiritual redemption but was actually a statement against government's destruction of humanity. In that light, some of the writing in Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature may be offensive to people with Christian ideals. However, Shupe is very supportive of Jesus' underlying message to care for the people around us in the spirit of community.
Overall, I was not impressed with this book. It was monotonous and repetitive. I would give it only 1 out of 4 stars.
******
Rediscovering the Wisdom of Human Nature
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon