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With his groundbreaking and controversial DIM hypothesis, Dr. Leonard Peikoff casts a penetrating new light on the process of human thought, and thereby on Western culture and history. In this far-reaching study, Peikoff identifies the three methods people use to integrate concrete data into a whole, as when connecting diverse experiments by a scientific theory, or separate laws into a Constitution, or single events into a story. The first method, in which data is integrated through rational means, he calls Integration. The second, which employs non-rational means, he calls Misintegration. The third is Disintegration—which is nihilism, the desire to tear things apart. In The DIM Hypothesis Peikoff demonstrates the power of these three methods in shaping the West, by using the categories to examine the culturally representative fields of literature, physics, education, and politics. His analysis illustrates how the historical trends in each field have been dominated by one of these three categories, not only today but during the whole progression of Western culture from its beginning in Ancient Greece. Extrapolating from the historical pattern he identifies, Peikoff concludes by explaining why the lights of the West are going out—and predicts the most likely future for the United States.
Acknowledgments ix
Preface xi
Part 1 Epistemology
1 Integration 3
2 The Three Archetypes 23
3 The Two Mixtures 44
4 DIM and the Hypothesis 64
Part 2 Dim in Modern Culture
5 Literature 81
6 Physics 106
7 Education 131
8 Politics 153
Part 3 Dim in Pre-Modern Culture
9 Greece 185
10 Rome 210
11 The Middle Ages 230
Part 4 The Future
12 Identifying a Culture's Essence 251
13 The West's Modal Progression 266
14 Secular Modes in the United States Today 287
15 The Anti-Secular Rebellion 308
16 What's Next 333
Endnotes 349
General Index 367
Index of DIM Terms 377
fuguewriter
Posted September 5, 2012
"Breaking new ground."
Ayn Rand's longest-tenured and most deeply devoted student, Leonard Peikoff breaks into entirely untrodden ground in this, his life's masterwork. There is an ease in his introductory walk-through the philosophy of Objectivism's theory of concepts and their relationship to human survival and thriving that is distinctive in the literature of this most distinct (and newly controversial) philosophy. That groundwork is extended through unexpected connections and insights in a contrapuntal fashion throughout. Dr. Peikoff sounds telling warnings against the Scyllae and Charybdii of the modern and post-modern fallacies of thought: misintegration, and disintegration.
An intriguing theory and one that will not only be debated, but may - and should - prompt a new way of looking at history and the influence of ideas in historical development.
This reader was reminded of the words of Dionysius of Helicarnassus: "History is philosophy, teaching by examples."
For those who mistake Objectivism for arrogance, the striking modesties of the author's Introduction - they were almost too much - will provide food for thought, if not reconsideration.
Well-recommended!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 8, 2013
The author seems a bit too self-conscious throughout the text and it reads a little too autobiographically. However, this makes it more readable and it's genuinely philosophical. I love the philosophy presented and do not consider it entirely "Objectivistic".
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.AnObjectivist
Posted October 13, 2012
An important book by one of the world's greatest living philosophers. As Peikoff states in the introduction, if you're not too familiar with the philosophy of Objectivism, originated by Ayn Rand, you're better off learning more about that, before reading this book.
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Posted October 23, 2012
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Anonymous
Posted December 9, 2012
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Overview
With his groundbreaking and controversial DIM hypothesis, Dr. Leonard Peikoff casts a penetrating new light on the process of human thought, and thereby on Western culture and history. In this far-reaching study, Peikoff identifies the three methods people use to integrate concrete data into a whole, as when connecting diverse experiments by a scientific theory, or separate laws into a Constitution, or single events into a story. The first method, in which data is integrated through rational means, he calls ...