Wholly Human: Western and Eastern Visions of the Self and Its Perfection

Originally published in 1981, the subject matter of Wholly Human is integrated Man, the man whose functions and faculties work together in harmony, the man who is wholly human - aware and accepting of the disparities between who he thinks he is and who he really is.

In the first part of this book the author looks at the different ways in which we lose sight of our wholeness, as well as therapies and techniques for reintegration available at the time. In the second part he looks at the ways in which integrated man perceives and acts once he has seen through the fallacious ideas he has been given about himself. In order to explain the nature of integrity the author develops an integrated approach to psychology. He combines the practical and psychological wisdom of the East with contemporary Western theories of the Self.

Written in a lively and engaging style, the book will be of interest not only to psychologists but to all those who have asked themselves that most slippery of questions: Who am I? The author is uniquely equipped to guide the reader on this voyage of self-discovery. Having immersed himself both in theoretical psychology and in the first-hand experience of many therapeutic and meditative techniques, he writes with an authority that is at once intellectual and existential.

Guy Claxton is Honorary Senior Research Fellow in Education at the University of Bristol and Emeritus Professor of the Learning Sciences at the University of Winchester. His research and publications focus on the varieties of non-conscious and non-intellectual intelligence, and practical methods of enhancing such intelligence in educational, therapeutic and spiritual contexts. Recent books include The Learning Power Approach, Intelligence in the Flesh and Bodies of Learning: How Embodiment Science Transforms Education.