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Book Description

Modern culture’s worship of “how-to” pragmatism has turned us into instruments of efficiency and commerce—but we’re doing more and more about things that mean less and less. We constantly ask “how? and still struggle to find purpose and act on what matters. Instead of acting on what we know to be of importance, we wait for bosses to change, we seek the latest fad, we invest in one more degree. Asking how keeps us safe—instead of being led by our hearts into uncharted territory, we keep our heads down and stick to the rules. But we are gaining the world and losing our souls. Peter Block puts the “how-to” craze in perspective and presents a guide to the difficult and life-granting journey of bringing what we know is of personal value into an indifferent or even hostile corporate and cultural landscape. He raises our awareness of the trade-offs we’ve made in the name of practicality and expediency, and offers hope for a way of life in which we’re motivated not by what “works,” but by the things that truly matter in life—idealism, intimacy, depth and engagement.

Table of Contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Introduction: Acting on What Matters
  6. Part 1: The Question
    1. 1. How Is the Wrong Question
    2. 2. Yes Is the Right Question
    3. 3. Defenses Against Acting
  7. Part 2: Three Qualities
    1. 4. Recapturing the Idealism of Youth
    2. 5. Sustaining the Touch of Intimacy
    3. 6. Enduring the Depth of Philosophy
  8. Part 3: The Requirements
    1. 7. Claiming Full Citizenship
    2. 8. Home School Yourself
    3. 9. Your Boss Doesn't Have What You Want
    4. 10. Oh, by the Way . .. You Have to Give Up Your Ambition
    5. 11. Care for the Whole (Whether It Deserves It or Not)
  9. Part 4: Social Architecture
    1. 12. The Instrumental Imperative
    2. 13. The Archetypes of Instrumentality and Desire
    3. 14. The Role of the Social Architect
    4. 15. It’s a Mystery to Me
  10. Bibliography
  11. Acknowledgments
  12. Index
  13. About the Author
  14. About Designed Learning
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