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