In a wide arc from the Paleolithic to the present day, this book explores the changing structure of human experience and its impact on the dynamics of cultures, civilizations and political ideas.

Wolfgang Leidhold is Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne (Germany). His publications cover topics from the Paleolithic to Modernity. The study of experience is the main focus of his research.

Prologue Introduction 1. Exploring Experience 2. The First Tree of Experience 3. The Turn to Imagination 4. A Sense of Order 5. Reflections of the Self 6. The Eye of Reason 7. Exploring History 8. The Life of the Spirit 9. Creative Imagination 10. The Turn to Consciousness 11. The Inner Transcendence 12. No End to History-An Epilogue