Status
Call number
Genres
Collection
Description
This edition of The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution includes a lecture, not previously published, in which Ouspensky givers some details of the "School of the Fourth Way," with which he was connected, and an account of some of its fundamental principles, methods, and rules. The psychology Ouspensky sets forth in this introductory lectures has existed in one form or another for thousands of years and, unlike modern psychology, studies man from the point of view of what he may become. Once a man realizes how little control he has over his reactions to external circumstances and internal stimuli, he may wish to find a way to becomoe free of this mechanical way of living. Ouspensky describes how a man must work simultaneously on his knowledge and his being to find inner unity and why although his development depends on his own efforts, this is very difficult to achieve without guidance from a "School."… (more)
User reviews
One of the points stressed many times throughout the book is the need for “schools” that teach a person how to advance. Without schools a person cannot make any progress (the actual quote is “…one must get rid of the second illusion – that one can get anything by oneself; because by oneself one can get nothing” pg. 38). At first you might think he means you cannot advance without other human contact or ideas (social, academic, reading, etc.) but he means a very specific type of school that teaches the methods in his system. This does not bode well for humanity since I have never heard of any such schools near me.
Mixed in with what I would consider a very western perspective was a smattering of eastern ideas as well as what are now common ideas from self-help psychology. All of this made for parts that I agreed with but have read elsewhere, to parts that simply did not resonate with me. Overall most of the interesting ideas covered in the book have been covered more adequately in other books that I’ve read.