Climbing Higher

Not  everyone climb mountains, however  stories of climbing adventures provide insight into the adventure of life that we all  share: overcoming  obstacles  and  reaching  out  to  something  bigger and higher than immediate daily activities. History and psychology indicate  that  this is a strong human need that includes having a sense of meaning and purpose. Mountains can symbolize obstacles in meeting these needs, and  experiences in climbing  mountains  provide  a  vehicle  both  actually and  figuratively for exploring mechanisms and  impacts involved.The  book  begins with a personal experience climbing Mount Fuji  that  nearly  ended  in  disaster,  with  the question of why people  do  such things. Subsequent chapters alternate between mountain climbing experiences and research results about why people pursue difficult  tasks. A bottom-up approach  supports culminating proposals of spirituality as a universal personality trait, nognosticism that recognizes knowledge is limited, ecumenical humanism for religious tolerance, and the philosophy of pragmatic pluralism. For life to be meaningful and manageable, people need a sense of purpose and coherence that is best met by having  belief  in a higher transcendent realm while also having enough doubt about its nature or validity to pursue a quest  for ultimate reality despite the great paradox.