In this treatise Robert Boysen proposes a theory based on his extensive exposition to the culture of several countries and education. I read the book with an open mind, it is true that we are not used to question our culture, education, beliefs and actions.
I find very enriching what is proposed here, exposes a general panoramic of the author based on his knowledge of the biological foundations of behavior, human psychology and anthropology; and with this I am not saying that everything that arises is a last truth, since as the author himself comments, it is a hypothesis for a general theory that still requires research work, and the results can modify it.
The author develops his theory in general, without going into too many details. His hypothesis is based on two fundamental human impulses that are biologically designed to ensure, survivorship of the species. He mentions that one of the key concepts for the development of his theory is the Freudian psichology, and in my opinion it would be interesting to include the proposals of Humanistic Psychology and / or Transpersonal Psychology.
The Transpersonal psychology studies peak experiences, expansion of consciousness, amplified states of love, compassion and universal brotherhood, among others; and there is also neuroscientific documentation on meditation. Although the author touched on the subject of religion and the motivations we have to adopt these beliefs, because they give us a sense of power over universal phenomena beyond our understanding and field of action. And supposing that the author would consider these attributes within the process of enculturation, even recognizing that we all have these drives, I believe that he lacked to integrate some concepts for a better understanding of human consciousness, for example within the levels of development of consciousness, the transpersonal or trans-ego level. Of course my opinions are debatable, since much of these experiences and philosophical perspectives have not been tested scientifically and there are many divergent philosophical arguments.
My gratitude to the Publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review the book