Chaos, Gaia, Eros: A Chaos Pioneer Uncovers the Three Great Streams of History

by Ralph H. Abraham

A modern philosophy suggests that there are three main forces working to shape our lives

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, History, Philosophy, Anthropology

263 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1994

About the author

Dr. Ralph Herman Abraham was a mathematician who specialized in the development of dynamical systems theory. He was a Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He also consulted on chaos theory and its applications in fields such as medical physiology, ecology, mathematical economics, and psychotherapy.

Abraham was also interested in alternative ways of expressing mathematics, for example visually or aurally. He has staged performances in which mathematics, visual arts and music are combined into one presentation. He also developed an interest in "Hip" activities in Santa Cruz in the 1960s and he wrote several books and one website on the topic. He credited his use of psychedelics for inspiring this interest.

Reviews

[Caro]

Ralph Abraham was a professor at my university and I emailed him because I wanted to talk about chaos. Unknown to me, he died the day before I emailed him. This led to a domino effect of discoveries and I am very influenced by his work.

[Lev Rosenthal]

Very insightful.

[Arthur]

A charming, highly provocative and in some respects entirely cogent metahistory/mythography, a must read for those caught between concepts of revolution and tradition, under the delusion of the a linear or cyclical history, or disenchanted with both dominant patriarchal mythic forms, and attempts to deconstruct them while offering only fractured subjective ambivalence as to what might replace them.

[James]

Fascinating look at the undercurrents of civilization, the mythical ideas that have been carried for thousands of years to today.