Dualistic thinking presents us with a profound problem. The basic polarity of Good/Bad is the driving force behind most human conflict, where a potentially fertile opposition crystallizes into enmity and the enemy becomes a "demon," totally evil and no longer qualified for human compassion or understanding. This is widely recognised, and the traditional response is a "call to unity" - either in the form of a return to common basics, or an advance towards an higher synthesis.

This book presents a different approach. It argues that unity, even in the form of a higher synthesis, is in...