"A profound personal meditation on human existence... weaving together... historic and contemporary thought on the deepest question of all: why are we here?" -Gabor Maté M.D., author, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts
As our civilization careens toward climate breakdown, ecological destruction, and gaping inequality, people are losing their existential moorings. The dominant worldview of disconnection, which tells us we are split between mind and body, separate from each other, and at odds with the natural world, has been invalidated by modern science.
Award-winning author Jeremy Lent, investigates humanity's age-old questions-Who am I? Why am I? How should I live?-from a fresh perspective, weaving together findings from modern systems thinking, evolutionary biology, and cognitive neuroscience with insights from Buddhism, Taoism, and Indigenous wisdom.
The result is a breathtaking accomplishment: a rich, coherent worldview based on a deep recognition of connectedness within ourselves, between each other, and with the entire natural world. It offers a compelling foundation for a new philosophical framework that could enable humanity to thrive sustainably on a flourishing Earth.
The Web of Meaning is for everyone looking for deep and coherent answers to the crisis of civilization.
"One of the most brilliant and insightful minds of our age, Jeremy Lent has written one of the most essential and compelling books of our time." -David Korten, author, When Corporations Rule the World and The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community
"We need, now more than ever, to figure out how to make all kinds of connections. This book can help-and therefore it can help with a lot of the urgent tasks we face." -Bill McKibben, author, Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?

Jeremy Lent is the award-winning author of The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity's Search for Meaning and Requiem of the Human Soul. A former internet company CEO, he is founder of the non-profit Liology Institute dedicated to fostering an integrated, life-affirming worldview. He lives in Berkeley, California.

A compelling foundation for a new story of interconnectedness, showing how, as our civilization unravels, another world is possible.

Award-winning author, Jeremy Lent, investigates humanity's age-old questions-Who am I? Why am I? How should I live?-from a fresh perspective, weaving together findings from modern systems thinking, evolutionary biology, and cognitive neuroscience with insights from Buddhism, Taoism, and Indigenous wisdom.

The result is a breathtaking accomplishment: a rich, coherent worldview based on a deep recognition of connectedness within ourselves, between each other, and with the entire natural world.

As our civilization careens toward a precipice of climate breakdown, ecological destruction, and gaping inequality, people are losing their existential moorings. Our dominant worldview of disconnection-which tells us we are split between mind and body, separate from each other, and at odds with the natural world-has passed its expiration date.

Yet another world is possible.

The Web of Meaning offers a compelling foundation for the new story that could enable humanity to thrive sustainably on a flourishing Earth. It's a book for everyone looking for deep and coherent answers to the crisis of civilization.

Introduction

Part 1: Who Am I?
Chapter 1: The Nameless Uncarved Wood
Chapter 2: The Most Important Relationship of Your Life
Chapter 3: The Original AI: Animate Intelligence

Part 2: Where Am I?
Chapter 4: The Patterns of the Universe
Chapter 5: The Harmonic Web of Life

Part 3: What Am I?
Chapter 6: The Deep Purpose of Life
Chapter 7: The Tao in My Own Nature

Part 4: How Should I Live?
Chapter 8: Flourishing as an Integrated Organism
Chapter 9: Cultivating Integrated Values
Chapter 10: Human | Nature

Part 5: Why Am I?
Chapter 11: Everything Is Connected
Chapter 12: From Fixed Self to Infinite Li: The Fractal Nature of Identity
Chapter 13: Weaving a New Story of Meaning