Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior

Analyze Hawkins’s arguments about how some “leaps” in consciousness, like that experienced by Bill W. (Chapters 18 and 21), are permanent, while others, like those experienced through entrainment (Chapter 22), are not. How does Hawkins characterize each? How does each concept illuminate some of the text’s key themes and ideas?

What role does humility play in Hawkins’s conceptions of consciousness? How does it illuminate some of his ideas about power versus force?

Closely analyze Hawkins’s Map of Consciousness. What assumptions and/or biases does the Map of Consciousness reflect? What are some of the strengths and limitations of the Map?

Power vs. Force has been criticized because applied kinesiology is often considered a pseudoscience. Research some of these criticisms. What are some of the weaknesses critics highlight in Hawkins’s methodology and assertions? What counterresponse, if any, could be made to these critiques?

How does Hawkins’s conceptions of enlightenment and the means of attaining it compare to, or contrast with, traditional understandings of enlightenment in spiritual traditions such as Buddhism?

Hawkins claims that human beings cannot differentiate between good and evil. What are the strengths and weaknesses of his argument? How does this idea influence his conception of ethics and morality more generally in Power vs. Force?

Hawkins invokes various historical figures to illustrate his ideas and concepts. Choose one and closely analyze the figure. How does Hawkins characterize this figure? What is this figure’s wider significance in the text? How does Hawkins’s presentation or understanding of this figure compare to that of other sources, such as historians and/or theologians?

What distinction does Hawkins make between spirituality and religion? What role does each concept play in his exploration of power versus force?