This book by an anthropologist looks at recent developments in the sciences and the humanities taking into account many disciplines. The integral approach suggests radical departures by presenting alternate paradigms to the consumeristic paradigm which governs humankind today. This reconceptualizing through a rethinking is the only way a shift in lifestyles can be brought about if we wish to avoid the disasters which are upon us in terms of the oftstated ecological, socio-economic, psychological and spiritual crises. The implications of science in the new age are crucial for the growth and relevance of those disciplines which study the human phenomenon. By and large, in these academic disciplines general concepts have neglected the role of Consciousness which is a must in any integral approach. Each chapter is governed by this overall context, as it is exemplified in the different topics dealt with from the viewpoint of many disciplines. The argument is not a linear sequential one, and in this sense each chapter is self-contained especially because the basic premise is that it is both the observer and the observed which have to be thoroughly understood at the particular and the universal levels. Science itself is moving into metaphysics, converging well into mystical insights and ancient speculative thought. The various themes of the book are: Civilization Studies and Knowledge: A Holistic Approach; Rock Art: A Creative Act; Man in Nature: An Integral Universe; A Question of Consciousness; Science and Consciousness; Violence and Non-Violence: A Binary System; and Integral Listening as Communication. CONTENTS Contents Acknowledgements 1. Prologue 2. Civilizational Studies and Knowledge: A Holistic Approach 2.1 Civilizational Studies: Brief Background 2.1.1 Evolutionist and Progress Assumptions 2.1.2 Organic View Points 2.1.3 Non-Evolutionist Definitions 2.1.4 Levels of Integration 2.1.5 Literate Civilizational Studies 2.2 History of Anthropological Studies 2.3 Brief Background of Indian Studies 2.3.1 Historical Studies 2.3.2 Archaeological Studies 2.4 Indian Civilization: Structure and Dynamics 2.5 Modern Civilization: A Crisis of Fragmentation 2.6 Cognition – How Do We Know What We Know? 2.7 Space, Time and Knowledge 2.7.1 Space 2.7.2 Time 2.7.3 Knowledge 2.7.4 Space, Time and Knowledge Interrelated 2.7.5 Notions about the Mind 2.7.6 The Concept of Time in the Study of the Past 2.7.6.1 General Notions 2.7.6.2 A Study of the Past 2.8 Psychological Aspects of Cultural Symbols 2.9 Some Examples 2.9.1 The Village Context 2.9.2 Indian View of Civilization 2.9.3 The Awareness Context of Sanskrit 2.10 The Role of Intellectuals and Tradition 2.11 The Ethnographic Context 2.11.1 An Indian Example 2.11.2 Summing up of this section 3. Rock Art: A Universal Creative Act 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Rock Art qua Art 3.3 The Indian Example 3.4 Summary 4. Man in Nature: An Integral Universe 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Wholeness 4.3 From the Inorganic to the Organic 4.4 Organic Evolution 4.5 Biosphere, Organism and Environment 4.6 Beyond Duality 4.7 Self-Reflection and Self-Transcendence 4.8 Nature of Science and Wholeness 4.9 Conclusion: Context of All Contexts 5. A Question of Consciousness 6. Science and Consciousness 6.1 Introduction 6.1.1 The Universe 6.1.2 Man 6.1.3 Knowledge-Truth 6.2 Physical Whole 6.3 Artificial Intelligence and Consciousness 6.4 Observation and Perception 6.5 Mentality and Sentience 6.6 Attention, Consciousness and Cognition 6.7 On Complementarity 6.8 Physics and Biology 6.9 Mysticism and Science 6.10 Summary 7. Violence–Non-Violence: A Binary System 8. Integral Listening as Communication 8.1. Introduction 8.2 Language and Communication 8.3 Speaking and Listening 8.4 Non-listening 8.5 Language, Science and Power 8.6 Language, Culture and Communication 8.7 Monologue and Dialogue 8.8 Knowledge: Importance of Oral Traditions 8.9 Communion and Listening 8.10 Evolution and Listening 8.11 Listening: Humanities and Sciences 8.12 Listening and Development 8.13 Conclusion 9. Epilogue Bibliography Index