Changing Consciousness: Exploring the Hidden Source of the Social, Political, and Environmental Crises Facing Our World

Physicist and philosopher David Bohm shows how people need to adopt a new way of thinking in order to solve the crises facing the planet. His thesis is presented in dialogue form, accompanied by a photo essay. Through the examination of a totality or whole system, Bohm suggests that we may learn more than by examining its parts. The book consists of two sections: a photo essay by Mark Edwards and an exploration in dialogue form of the deeper causes of why civilization, human life and the planet itself are threatened by technological development, while at the same time new possibilities for living creatively and productively have emerged. The photographs introduce the reader to a direct and non-verbal expression of the problems brought about by the patterns of daily living and the fundamental similarity of human beings everywhere regardless of their technological level. The photo/essay is followed by Bohm's probing of the underlying cause of the crisis, which is a basic and pervasive lack of harmony between the intellect and the emotions. Human beings are out of balance according to Bohm, and the way out is through a radical re-examination of the thinking process. David Bohm's other books include "The Ending of Time" and "The Future of Humanity", both of them dialogues with J. Krishnamurti.