The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity's Search for Meaning

This is definitely the best account of the human story that I have ever read. Jeremy Lent describes his approach as cognitive history – tracing the ideas that underlie the development of different civilizations. He covers a huge canvas, starting with our ape ancestors, the development of stone technology, the invention of language and symbolic thought, hunter-gatherer culture and shamanism, the rise of agriculture, cities and empires, and the roots of modern culture. He makes a strong contrast between Chinese civilisation, which has a continuous history going back more than four thousand years, and Western civilisation, with its Iranian, Egyptian, Hebrew and Greek roots, relayed through changing languages to become the global civilisation of today. The Chinese never lost their original vision of humanity as an integral part of the natural world, and under the Song dynasty their philosophers achieved a satisfying synthesis of Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist ideas, anticipating modern systems thinking. The West, in contrast, adopted the Platonic and then Christian concept of the soul as belonging to the eternal world of forms, imprisoned in flesh, governed by one god outside the cosmos. Descartes revised this into the secular distinction between mind and body, but still saw the mind as outside and above the world of flesh. With the scientific and industrial revolution, Westerners set out to achieve the control of nature by the rational mind. Christians sought the subjugation of non-Christian peoples. The search for the conquest of nature has led to the present crisis of mass extinction, resource depletion and climate change. Looking to the future, Lent considers visions inspired by the idea of the triumph of mind over matter - the genetic engineering of humans and our bifurcation into two species, or replacement of human by machine intelligence. He concludes by looking to the development of a new civilisation based on a new cognitive model, which he see sees foreshadowed by growing movements for empathy, compassion and sharing. The whole book is beautifully structured and balanced, clearly written and full of concrete examples and memorable quotations.

This big thick history book surprised me by being so engaging that I didn’t want to put it down. It covers the whole history of human civilisation from the beginning of time until the present and then to somewhere in the uncertain future. In this journey we are enthralled, entertained, appalled and enchanted in turn. Filled with fascinating detail and challenging ideas the book is a romp through what has given meaning to life in different parts of the world at different times. It culminates with a glimpse of a potentially cataclysmic future – or alternatively one in which humanity might just possibly avert disaster and make a better world.The first three quarters of the book provide a commanding perspective of a well-researched and broad history of the major cultures that have existed around the world through the ages. In the last quarter we use this perspective to view our own western civilisation that currently dominates the world and seems to be leading us to disaster of one sort or another. In the closing chapters we look at alternative possibilities that might avert the worst aspects of such disasters and lead to the founding of a different and more harmonious kind of civilisation.The index, notes and further reading suggested, serve not only to support Lent’s scholarship but also to nudge the reader towards going more deeply into the arguments and, hopefully, coming to similar conclusions that might just result in collective action to save us from the worst excesses of modernity.I strongly recommend this book to everyone – whether or not you are in a leadership or management role, you are surely a responsible citizen of humanity. Read this and think! It will surely influence your own world and thereby change, and maybe even save, the world we share.

Perhaps the most engaging book I have ever read on the interpretation of the long timeline of human history. It is singularly difficult to challenge the prevailing mind-set driving the global economy, which is destroying planet earth; Mr Lent presents a fascinating challenge to cultural beliefs.Having read other reviews, I would also say that a comparison with Yuval Harari is not helpful, the enquiry is different. I think BOTH authors are essential reading for anyone making their own enquiry into the ecological catastrophe humans have engineered.

I enjoyed this book and by the end was fully convinced about the patterning instinct. Lent covers the historical story very well - bit light on the Buddhist area and I thought he would have mentioned the early 15th Century instruction to China not to be involved with overseas despite having a large shipping industry.So impressed I bought copies for my sons.

Arrived quickly. Bought this after hearing radio4 recommendation but it is apparently basic and not as well written or detailed as Sapiens, possibly good to read before but not after.