About the book

About the book

As a contribution to Critical Feminist and Race Theory, the Tao of the Species tells the story of our species and our civilization as seen through the twin lenses of modern science and the ancient theory of balance and harmony almost as old as the species itself, namely the Taoist yin-yang theory of harmony and crisis.The book is organized chronologically in five parts to facilitate telling its story.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Evolution and the Theory of Balance

Chapter 1: Evolution from Fish to Primates (360–300 Million Years Ago)

                    Of Fish and Mammals

                    The Primacy of the Female Function

                    Oxytocin and the Female Neural-Hormonal Axis of Harmony

                    The Complementarity of the Male Function

                    The Amygdala and the Neural-Hormonal Axis of Crisis

                    Oxytocin as the Antidote for Social Stress and Anxiety

                    The Yin-Yang Interplay of the Female and Male Neurohormonal Axes

Chapter 2: The Theory of Balance and Harmony

                    Understanding the Taiji Symbol

                    The Unity of Opposites

                    The Proportion of Opposites

                    The Interpenetration of Opposites

                    The Placement of Opposites

                    Neurohormonal Yin-Yang of Harmony and Crisis

                    In the Beginning: The Yin-Yang of Our Creation Myth

Chapter 3: Primates and Their Social Organization (70 Million Years Ago)

                    The Plasticity of Female and Male Function

                    Bonobo and Chimpanzee Monkeys

                    Our Jungle Heritage and the Fate of the Species

                    The Way of the Chimpanzee

                    Chimpanzee and Human Violence

                    The Way of the Bonobo

                    Bonobo and Human Kindness

                    Oxytocin and the Revolution in Evolution

                    Evolution and the Bonobo-Chimpanzee Divergence

                    The Mellowing of the Old Fellas

Chapter 4: Hunter­Gatherer Societies (50,000–10,000 Years Ago)

                    The Domestication of Fire

                    The Traditional Consensus on Hunter-Gatherer Societies

                    The Human Innovation: The Nuclear Family

                    Daily Life Among the Hunter-Gatherers

                    Violence and War Among the Hunter-Gatherers

                    The Transition from Hunter-Gatherer to Herder-Farmer

                    The Neolithic Revolution and Agricultural Civilization

Chapter 5: Bronze Age Civilizations (4000–1628 BCE)

                    Sumer: The First Civilization

                    Egyptian Civilization

                    The Paradox of Early Human Progress                                        

Part 2: The Great Polarity Reversal in Antiquity

Chapter 6: The Age of Catastrophe, the Destruction of the Mediterranean World, 

                     and the Origin of

                    Monotheism (1628 BCE)

                    The Yin-Yang of Evolution

                    Gradual and Punctuated Evolution

                    The Great Catastrophe

                    Centuries of Catastrophes

                    The Destruction of Mediterranean Civilizations

                    Minoan Civilization and Its Destruction

                    The Evidence of the Maps

                    Paradigm Change in Post-Catastrophic Egypt

                    The Hebrews and the Catastrophe: Moses and Monotheism Revisited

                    The Parting of the Sea

                    Moses and the Hebrews

                    The Mosaic Experience of Enlightenment

                    Radical Social Restructuring

                    Historical Consequences

Chapter 7: From Archaic to Classical Greece (1200–400 BC)

                    The Yin-Yang of Ancient Greek Mythology

                    Greece and the Catastrophe

                    Primordial, Female-Centric Origin Myth

                    Life Among the Greek Gods: Misogyny, Incest, and Murder

                    War of the Titans

                    Archaic Greece (1200–1100 BCE)

                    The Trojan War

                    The Late Bronze Age Collapse

                    Athena’s Birth and Its Meaning

                    Athena and Athens

                    Classical Greece (600–400 BCE)

                    Solon in Athens

                    Class Structure in Classical Greece

                    The Casting of Lots and Sortition Democracy

                    Sparta: Oligarchy and Equality of the Sexes

                    Greek Male-Centric Polytheism and Hebrew Male-Centric Monotheism

 Chapter 8: Roman Civilization and the Rise of Christianity (300 BCE–284 CE)

                    The Male-Centric Nature of Roman Civilization

                    Rise of Female-Centric Gnostic Christianity

                    Rise of Male-Centric Christian Orthodoxy

                    The Decline of the Roman Republic and the Rise of the Roman Catholic Church

                    The Cruelty and Violence of Christianity

Part 3: The Global Ascent of the White Man

Chapter 9: The Birth of the White Man in Medieval Europe (500–1500)

                    The Yin-Yang of Crisis

                    Catastrophe and Recovery in the Early and High Middle Ages

                    Christian Racism and the Crusades

                    Renewed Calamities and Increasing Violence in the 14th Century

                    The Life of Women in Medieval Times

                    The Life of Children in Medieval Times

                    Masochism and the Feudal-Catholic Character Structure

Chapter 10: The Manifest Destiny of the White Man (1500–1900)

                    The White Man’s Gathering Storm in Western Europe

                    The Quest for Religious and Political Freedom

                    Renewed Persecution of Women

                    The Quest for Control of Space and Territory

                    The Quest for Control of Nature and Time

                    Sadism and the Formation of the Capitalist-Protestant Character Structure

                    The Europeans Come to America and Conquer a Continent

                    Two Competing Protestant Visions for the Soul of America

                    Theocratic Protestantism

                    Humanistic Protestantism

                    The Linking of Capitalism and Democracy

                    Capitalism, Christianity, and the Price of Conquest

                    Protestant Christianity and Capitalism

                    Religious Persecution of the Native Peoples

                    Genocide and Its Unintended Consequences

                    The Big Business of Slavery, and the Struggle for Emancipation

                    Capital, Labor, and Race

                    Abraham Lincoln, the Fight Against Slavery, and the Civil War (1861–1865)

                    Lincoln and Marx

                    The Goddess Returns and the Women Awaken to a New Century

                    The Statue of Liberty

                    Emma Lazarus

                    The Women’s Suffrage Movement

Chapter 11: The American Century (1900–1975)

                    White Male Racism, Empire Building, and the Domestic 

Price of Greed (1900–1925)

                    The Global Anglosphere

                    Teddy Roosevelt and the Spanish-American War

                    Woodrow Wilson’s Peace Failure at Versailles

                    Bipolar Disorder and Herd Instincts

                    Bubbles and Busts, Manias and Panics

                    The Liberal Capitalist Era, World War II, and the Global Fight Against Fascism to Save 

                    Democracy and Capitalism (1925–1950)

                    The 1929 Crash and the Great Depression: How Booms Fuel Busts

                    To the Rescue: Roosevelt and the New Deal

                    The Nature and Threat of Fascism

                    Herd Behavior and Fascism Joining the Fight

                    The Concentration of Wealth and Fascism 

                    Domestic Anxiety, International Tension, and the 

                    Re-Emergence of the Female-Centric Paradigm in the Counterculture (1950–1975)

                    The Global Fight Against Communism to Save Democracy and Capitalism

                    Post-World War II Liberal Social Democracy

                    Loss of Faith in God and Government and the Rise of the Counterculture

                    The Beats, the Baby Boom, and the Counterculture

                    Counterculture Politics and Spirituality

Part 4: The White Man’s Global Descent into Dystopia

Chapter 12: The Engines Accelerating Time in the Global Descent into Dystopia

                      Excursus on Dystopia and Eutopia

                      The Acceleration of Historical Time and the Shrinking of Global Space

                      The Dystopian Dynamics of the Global Engines Accelerating Time

                      Global Population Pressures and Migrations Catastrophe

                      Energy, Global Warming, and Climate Change Catastrophe

                      Pandemic Catastrophes

Chapter 13: America’s Institutional Descent into Dystopia

                      White Man’s Dystopian Personality Disorder (WMDPD)

                      The Right-Wing, Male-Centric Power Paradigm Launches Its Counteroffensive

                      The Prophets of Profit, Milton Friedman and Lewis Powell, Redefine Ideology and 

                      Strategy Financing the Instruments of Political Insurgency: Think Tanks, 

                      Lobbyists, PACS, and Media The Attack on Education and the Moronization of the

                      Electorate Dystopian Dynamics of Electoral Democracy

                      The Stench of Corruption

                      The Electorate’s Awareness of Corruption The Corruptors’ Tool Kits

                      Corruptors and Reformers

                      Comparing Democratic and Republican Stewardship of the Economy

                      Dystopian Dynamics of Capitalism and Class Structure

                      The Confluence of Big Business and Organized Crime

                      The Unequal Distribution of National Wealth

                      The Huge Tax Cuts for the Superrich

                      The High Disparity Between CEO and Worker Compensation

                      The Concentration of Wealth and Fascism

                      The Obscenity of Too Much Money

                      Forebodings of the Rich

Chapter 14: The American People’s Descent into Dystopia

                      The Stress of Life and the Yin-Yang of Unhappiness

                      The Pursuit of Happiness

                      Family Life: An Institution in Crisis

                      Student Life: Habituating Anxiety

                      The Religion of Work

                      The Yin of Unhappiness

                      The Mounting Toll of Stress Disease

                      Depression, Substance Abuse and Suicide

                      The Yang of Unhappiness Violence: The Numbers

                      Intimate Violence and Fake Masculinity Intimate Violence and Incel Manhood

                      Populist Terrorist Violence

                      The Common Essence of Islamic and White Christian Extremism

                      White Supremacy as a Religious Cult

Chapter 15: Trump, Microcosm of the Macrocosm

                      Trump and the White Man’s Dystopian Personality Disorder (WMDPD)

                      Trump’s Addictions Mother Mary Father Fred

                      The Character Formation of an Autocrat Trump’s Misogyny and Racism

                      Trump’s Base, Trump’s Party, and Trump’s Violence

                      Polarization in Post-World War II Mainstream Protestantism

                      Modern Apocalyptic Evangelicalism Trump as the Champion of Christian Nationalism

                      Trump’s Evangelical Christian Foreign Policy

                      The Devolution of the GOP into the Party of Violence

                      The Violence of Trump and His Base Trump’s Coup

                      Pre-Election: Planning for Defeat Strategies to Defeat Democracy

                      Trump Inciting the Insurrection on January 6 What Trump Was Doing During the 

                      Insurrection The Pathology of the Insurrection

                      Trumpism Beyond Trump The Trumpist Republican Party

                      Trumpism on the Supreme Court The GOP, Race and Misogyny: Two Turning Points

                      GOP Strategy: Power by Any Means Necessary What Is Illiberal Democracy?

                      The Globalization of Illiberal Democracy The Internet as the Womb of 

                      Right-Wing Violence

Part 5: The Global Paradigm Shift to Eutopia

Chapter 16: Turning the Wheel of Time: Paradigm Shift from Dystopia to 

                       Eutopia (2000–2050)

                      The Sleeping Giant of Female-Centric Progressive Populism Awakens

                      Four Waves of Feminism The Intersectionality of Female-Centrism

                      Black Women and the Black Lives Matter Movement

                      White Woman and the Paradigm Change in the White Man’s Masculinity

                      The Paradigm Shift in History A Return to Balance: 

                      The Paradigm Shift from Male-Centrism to Female-Centrism

                      Female Emancipation as the Key to Ending Racism and Ethnic Strife

                      The Paradigm Shift in Religiosity Decline of Male-Centric Monotheism

                      Female-Centric Paganism Revisited The Eutopian Intersection of 

                      Politics and Religion: The Example of the Green New Deal

                      The Paradigm Shift in Economics: From Scarcity to Abundance

                      Greek Democracy and the Economic Paradigm Based on Abundance

                      The Achievement of Abundance as Eutopian Inflection Point

                      The Struggle for AI and the Fate of the World

                      Balancing Human and Artificial Intelligence in Eutopia The Second U.S. Civil War

                      The White Man’s Split Personality Prepares to Fight Its Selves

                      Red Against Blue America Eutopian Strategy in the Second U.S. Civil War

                      The Yin-Yang of Capitalism and Socialism The Evolution of Joe Biden

                      From Conservative Rank and File to Eutopian Midwife Biden Claiming 

                      the Mantle of FDR Biden the Unifier

                      Biden and the Democrats Against the Wealthy

Chapter 17: The American Dream and the Birthing of Eutopia (2050–2100)

                      Restoring Economic Balance to Achieve Eutopia

                      Class Therapies for the White Man

                      Truth-and-Hope Therapy for the 90% Lower-Class White Guys

                      Addiction Therapy for the 9% Middle-Class White Guys

                      Disentitlement Therapy for the 1% Ruling Class White Guys

                      The New Social Contract

                      The New Social Contract and Its Quid Pro Quo

                      The Quid of the New Social Contract: Prosperity for the Poor and Powerless

                      The Pro Quo of the New Social Contract: Citizens as Service Providers

                      Paradigm Shift in the Practice of Democracy: The Case for Sortition Democracy

                      The Yin-Yang of Democracy Discarding the Competitive Electoral System

                      The CCORE Values of Sortition Democracy

                      Thought Experiment: A Small-Town Council

                      Training for and Expansion of Sortition Democracy The Participatory Aspect