"His books are polemical, especially his demonization of the mind and ego. He calls the ego “an imposter”, “tainted by madness”, “driven by greed”, “criminally insane” and “the blueprint for dysfunction that every human being carries within”. Eckhart has little good to say about the mind and nothing but vitriolic criticism for the ego. He descends into hyperbole in calling normal human existence a “collective nightmare”.
Eckhart’s opinion of the ego seems polarized and dualistic. The ego has served our species by giving us a sense of individual cohesiveness by which we avoid becoming paralyzed by internal conflicts. The collective conditioning of our society that Eckhart is so critical of insures a predictability of behavior that greatly facilitates working together. Our mind's ability to reflect, conceptualize, communicate and plan has given our species the ability to work together in much larger groups than other species, acquire collective knowledge and wisdom, and be in the position that we are now where the flowering of our consciousness can occur."
Eckhart’s opinion of the ego seems polarized and dualistic. The ego has served our species by giving us a sense of individual cohesiveness by which we avoid becoming paralyzed by internal conflicts. The collective conditioning of our society that Eckhart is so critical of insures a predictability of behavior that greatly facilitates working together. Our mind's ability to reflect, conceptualize, communicate and plan has given our species the ability to work together in much larger groups than other species, acquire collective knowledge and wisdom, and be in the position that we are now where the flowering of our consciousness can occur."