This book steers a course between the shoals of scientism and supernaturalism to explore the human condition in and through the mysteries of consciousness.
This book steers a course between the shoals of scientism and supernaturalism to explore the human condition in and through the mysteries of consciousness.
Philosophy, Physiological psychology, Religious
A central but rarely explored mystery of human existence and subjective consciousness was recognized by Blaise Pascal several centuries ago: Why am I me and not you or anyone else? Science can explain why there is (objectively) a person here, but not why that person is (subjectively) me. This relates to the more widely debated mind/body problem, more currently known as the "Hard Problem of Consciousness." Moving on to human culture, including religion and the arts, this book asks whether these are the direct result of Darwinian evolution or, rather, of the nature of human consciousness. Do the mysteries of our consciousness, of our existence, have a role to play?
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A personal reflection on consciousness and its mysteries, meaning, beauty, religion, death and transcendence. The central theme is relation, while the core mystery is the experience of individual consciousness as selfhood. The author shares the view of Raymond Tallis that survival is unimaginable and incompatible with science and reason, making no mention of evidence to the contrary. However, in the present, we are all open to encounter, relation, responsibility and awareness of the beyond as transcendent but not, for the author, supernatural and divine. ~ David Lorimer, Paradigm Explorer Scientific and Medical Network
I read your book with great interest. It's a well-written, comprehensive, and scholarly treatment of the subject. ~ Jeff Wunder, software engineer, musician, and novelist
. . . eloquent and well-reasoned, always rational, but with an emotional core. ~ Malcolm Jones, writer and editor at The Daily Beast, formerly with Newsweek; author of Little Boy Blues
Why are you YOU? In this fascinating book, Loomis Mayer explores the mystery of subjective consciousness, the specific personhood that makes you YOU. In a lucid and accessible style, Mayer draws on the enormous literature on consciousness -- in philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, religion, and art -- to probe this greatest of human mysteries. ~ John Potts, Professor of Media, MacQuarie University (Australia), and author of A History of Charisma and other books
. . . fascinating, very well written, and covers a subject that has always attracted me since childhood. ~ Arsenio Rodriguez, international development expert, scientist, and poet
