Creating Life Before Death presents a unique interdisciplinary perspective addressing humanity’s double crisis of living a meaningful life in a world of escalating problems. The first two authors are a scholar and a preacher who provide social science knowledge combined with stories from the personal experiences of a minister-cop. These authors are joined by Andy, a sociologist, an economist, and a medical social scientist. The authors note that people have generally failed to understand that the further development of the individual—the major focus of the book—is the basis for the continuing evolution of society. Every single person has awesome intellectual, emotional, and problem-solving potentials. People can learn to fulfill them by fully using their two most powerful tools: language and the scientific method. These tools can allow individuals to resist bureaucratic conformity that stifles creative innovation and interdisciplinary cooperation. Many have claimed that what these authors are doing is changing the world. With no exaggeration, this book actually takes basic steps in that direction.
Current threats of climate change, poverty, growing inequality, attacks on the press, racism, sexism, ageism, ethnocentrism, school shootings, homelessness, environmental degradation, and nuclear devastation have taken us far away from the utopian visions of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. The authors see society’s unsolved issues not as cause for pessimism, but rather as the first and most important step of the scientific method: awareness of problems. Interdisciplinary knowledge can become the basis for solving them. Over six years these authors have worked to integrate the bits and pieces of knowledge available throughout the social sciences and beyond. This book is the result.
The authors…
Andy Plotkin 