Living at the Edge of Chaos: Complex Systems in Culture & Psyche

Helene Shulman integrates experiences of synchronicity, altered states of consciousness, trance, ritual, Buddhist meditation practice and creativity into a broad perspective on cross-cultural psychology. What emerges is a comprehensive way to understand psychological illness and healing as a perpetual work-in-progress near the edge of chaos, where the seeds for new models of reality lie. With mental illness as the focus, she leads us on a fascinating interdisciplinary exploration, linking such areas as cultural studies, anthropology, evolutionary science and new work in mathematics and computer science – known as complexity theory – to Jungian psychology. A new paradigm for post-modern psychology emerges as the author presents a dynamic theoretical model containing rational and irrational aspects of individual and collective life.