Hence the title The Chalice (the life-generating and nurturing powers of the universe – in our time symbolized by the ancient chalice or grail) and the Blade the power to take rather than give life that is the ultimate power to establish and enforce domination. The original direction in the mainstream of our cultural evolution was toward partnership but that, following a period of chaos and almost total cultural disruption, there occurred a fundamental shift. – the partnership model – based on the principle of linking, affiliation and cooperation – the dominator model (popularly referred to as patriarchy or matriarchy) – the ranking of one half of humanity over another and These and other questions lead her to re-examine the past, present and future, captured here in The Chalice and the Blade, looking at human history and pre-history and at both male and female aspects of humanity and in particular, those societies where the feminine aspect was revered.
#Chalice and the blade review full
Why do we hunt and persecute each other? Why is our world so full of man’s infamous inhumanity to man – and woman? How can humans be so brutal to their own kind? What is it that chronically tilts us toward cruelty rather than kindness, toward war rather than peace, toward destruction rather than actualization? I also very early developed a passionate concern about the human situation. Very early in my life I saw that what people in different cultures consider given – just the way things are – is not the same everywhere. When she was a child she and her parents fled for their lives from the Nazis, first to Cuba and finally to the United States, thus she experienced three different cultures, each with their own version of truth and reality. Riane Eisler was born in Vienna, Austria.
And because it’s brilliant and deserves a much wider readership. Today, somewhat reluctantly, as it’s a large and in-depth work that can’t really be summarised, I decided I needed to write about it, especially as the sequel is due out and I’ve pre-ordered it, so I wanted to share my thoughts on this first. Riane Eisler's vision of a new society, based on looking at the past in a new way, and tracing a different path away from it, provides a fascinating glimpse of a new/old way to be.This is a book I’ve been fascinated by and slow reading over the past couple of months. We can, however, go forward to different type(s) of societies. Our population is too large for that lifestyle to support. We can't go back to being hunter gatherers. However, Quinn says little about the importance of the role of gender or what future social configuration(s) we could create, although he does briefly acknowledge ( Ishmael, Chapter 12, end of section 7 or page 247 paperback) Eisler's description of earlier, agricultural societies that were different from our civilization. According to Quinn, this is largely due to constant expansion resulting from increasing population pressures arising from attitudes unique to civilization. Examples include Minoan Crete, the ancient town of Catal Huyuk, and the Neolithic (late stone age).īoth blame our social organization instead of claiming that there is some innate flaw in humans.īoth mostly agree that there was a change from societies based on mutual support to a heirarchical civilization.īoth also mostly agree that our heirarchical civilization is largely based on attempted domination of lower ranking individuals, women(Eisler), and nature.Ĭonquest and/or domination of other societies also occurs. The author presents information about societies and religious beliefs from the past, based on cooperation and partnership between men and women, with no 'war of the sexes', in order to show that this is truly possible. Qualities like kindness, cooperation, and compassion are merely given lip service, or sometimes even ridiculed, especially when present in males-recently called "girlymen".Įven in the unlikely event that women were to replace men as the dominant sex, that is only the other side of the same coin. These are the same qualities that have always been valued in heirarchies, where it is believed that for me to win, you have to lose.
Although the women's movement has had some successes, it has mostly been by proving that women can be more like the ideal man: competitive, aggressive, manipulative, etc. Our civilization is founded on domination and heirarchy.
Vision of a society based on cooperation instead of competition, developed in part from archaeological evidence of similar societies. Everything Is Connected: Philosophy: Feminist Theology/Thealogy: Review: The Chalice and the BladeĪ Review and Comparison with Daniel Quinn.