The Evolving Self

"The Evolving Self" is not a typical general interest psychology book. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi puts on the philosopher hat for this book. The book takes the position that everyone needs to take responsibility for directing our future for the better. Mihaly warns that we cannot assume our civilization will always improve. He argues that the third millennium could prove to be a turning point where societal improvement will stop becoming automatic and may require we consciously direct bringing greater order to the world.

"The Evolving Self" is a heavily researched book. The book will take your mind across the span of history and cultures. In that sense, it is a joy to be exposed to all these aspects from the perspective of a psychologist (but wearing a philosopher's hat mind you).

My main criticism of "The Evolving Self" is the language used. This term meme is used through out. Meme was introduced by Richard Dawkins in 1976 and is not considered part of mainstream social science thinking. Memes are hard to wrap your head around because they treat cultural ideas almost like evolving life forms. It's a little weird and just a theory at this point, but Mihaly uses it as the foundation to how we can direct our own evolution. Other language that is a bit weird is "entropy" and "complexity". We want our actions to not increase entropy and increase complexity. This is kind of abstract and not as inspiring as it could be when we are really just talking about trying to make the world a better place.

The part of the book I was really looking forward to is the early part of the book. Mihaly teased of covering the new field of evolutionary psychology. Evolutionary psychology attempts to explain our current day psychological traits as the output of evolutionary natural selection over thousands of years. This stuff I dig, but the coverage on evolutionary psychology is quite limited.

I still highly recommend "The Evolving Self". When I finished the book, I paused to think about how I could do my part to "increase complexity". I was glad for all the things Mihaly exposed me to in his book and for making me feel the importance of making a difference.

"The Evolving Self" was published in 1993. I would love to hear what Mihaly thinks of the direction we have gone from 1993 to 2009. This book was written before ubiquitous video game playing, excessive multitasking, email overload, anxiety from 9/11, and collapse of the financial system from completely legal parasitic behavior. Does Mihaly think in the last 16 years we have allowed better opportunity for flow? Are we going in the direction he would desire? Or is society making distraction and unchecked parasitic behavior an easier choice and meaningful flow a harder choice? Flow is central to his arguments. Flow is necessary for this self evolution. I think reading "The Evolving Self" is even more important than it was in 1993. On the whole, I recommend this book.

I wish I could say this book really represented an evolution in psychology or how we conceive of the self, but the truth is, it really doesn't. If you read this author's other works, then this work can be thought of as half a step beyond those works. At times the author is judgmental, condescending, and whiny, and he doesn't offer much in the way of a concrete definition of self. The final few chapters predictably focus on flow, but don't provide anything significantly new to the theory that he hasn't offered anywhere else.

I read a lot, and never post reviews. This book is special though.

A very well researched and articulated book, the author throws light on the most important subject - you. It will teach you about your evolutionary past and what drives and motivates you (in more detail than I have read in most other books). He tells you everything you need to know about "flow." This book will take your thoughts (however they are) and make them more positive, productive, and happy. In doing so, you will become all of these.

The basis for the book is essentially that we are evolutionarily programmed to enjoy challenges. Absence of challenges = boredom. Challenges far beyond our reach = Stress. But challenges just above our skill level are what makes us grow and become more complex individuals. This book also throws light on morality and how that should (and can easily) guide your every move.

It is heavy reading, so be prepared for that. I read it when I was 19 and I think it is perfect for young people. A person of any age, however, will find this book of great value as it will challenge you to become a better and more complete person. If you don't need this, then don't buy the book. But, most of us do.

Professor Mike is on to something with this book. When you follow your positive emotions, especially Flow, you are following the guidence of the Divine Intelligence that is unfolding the universe. This is a very thought provoking and inspiring book. As a life coach, I see the practical application of Mihaly's work every day. This may be the way to a happier, more harmonious and sustainable future for our planet. Thanks Mike for showing us how to follow our Flow to build a better self and a better world.

By discussiing the evolution of the mind, this book gives us a clear and positive message about the future direction of our species. This made gave me hope about our future even though there are many terrible things going on in the world. The author argues that we are evolving self-organizing systems and we can continue to evolve. The message is very similar to the book "The Ever-Transcending Spirit" by Toru Sato except that Sato's remarkable book explains this in more simple and straightforward language. I think we all need to learn from these types of thinkers in order to help us move toward positive change in our evolution.