The Enigma of Consciousness
The Enigma of Consciousness

Author: Gene W. Marshall

Publisher: iUniverse

Published: 2015-06-26

Total Pages: 394

ISBN-13: 1491769688

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Philosophy of Religion An examination of why we have religion in every society; what makes religion necessary, good, or bad; and how we can enrich the practice of whatever religion we choose to practice. These basic life issues are explored: What is Truth? What is Consciousness? Inescapable Wonder, What is Religion? Six Was to Imagine the Unimaginable, The Ethics of Response-Ability. With clarify and abundant insights, Gene Marshall proposes ways by which we can move beyond old forms to those that would enable us to manifest qualities of profound humanness. He has given us a roadmap constructed of vital possibilities, which are urgently needed in this time of multiple crises when the status quo simply will not do. - Charlene Spretnak: author of Relational Reality, The Resurgence of the Real, and States of Grace; Ojai, CA The truth of reality if a mysteryin Gene Marshalls language, an almighty unknownbut reality is ever-present to our consciousness. To know what is known, or to make reality real, these are the profundities that Marshall systematically and thoughtfully probes in an analysis that rings as earnest and true as the author who penned it. - Dr. Jeffrey W. Robbins: Professor and Chair Religion and Philosophy; Lebanon Valley College; Annville, PA Gene Marshall coaxes the reader beyond the limiting enclosure of the personality-centered self and ego mind and into the realm of authentic personal interior experience. The author lifts the fog created by the pesky self-serving human mind regarding the interior life, and provides a path of clarify into depth states of being. - Michael D. May: Teacher, Group Discussion Leader, Curriculum Editor for Interior Mythos Journeys; Bloomington, IN

Interpersonal Psychoanalysis and the Enigma of Consciousness
Interpersonal Psychoanalysis and the Enigma of Consciousness

Author: Edgar A. Levenson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-07-28

Total Pages: 470

ISBN-13: 1315532395

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Edgar A. Levenson is a key figure in the development of interpersonal psychoanalysis whose ideas remain influential. Interpersonal Psychoanalysis and the Enigma of Consciousness builds on his previously published work in his key areas of expertise such as interpersonal psychoanalysis, transference and countertransference, and the philosophy of psychoanalysis, and sets his ideas into contemporary context. Combining a selection of Levenson’s own writings with extensive discussion and analysis of his work by Stern and Slomowitz, it provides an invaluable guide to how his most recent, mature ideas may be understood and applied by contemporary psychoanalysts in their own practice. This book explores how the rational algorithm of psychoanalytic engagement and the mysterious flows of consciousness interact; this has traditionally been thought of as dialectical, an unresolvable duality in psychoanalytic practice. Analysts move back and forth between the two perspectives, rather like a gestalt leap, finding themselves listening either to the "interpersonal" or to the "intrapsychic" in what feels like a self-state leap. But the interpersonal is not in dialectical opposition to the intrapsychic; rather a manifestation of it, a subset. The chapters pick up from the themes explored in The Purloined Self, shifting the emphasis from the interpersonal field to the exploration of the enigma of the flow of consciousness that underlies the therapeutic process. This is not the Freudian Unconscious nor the consciousness of awareness, but the mysterious Jamesian matrix of being. Any effort at influence provokes resistance and refusal by the patient. Permitted a "working space," the patient ultimately cures herself. How that happens is a mystery wrapped up in the greater mystery of unconscious process, which in turn is wrapped into the greatest philosophical and neurological enigma of all—the nature of consciousness. Interpersonal Psychoanalysis and the Enigma of Consciousness will be highly engaging and readable; Levenson’s witty essayist style and original perspective will make it greatly appealing and accessible to undergraduate and postgraduate students of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytic psychotherapy, as well as practitioners in these fields.

Quantum Enigma
Quantum Enigma

Author: Bruce Rosenblum

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2011-08-01

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 019979295X

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In trying to understand the atom, physicists built quantum mechanics, the most successful theory in science and the basis of one-third of our economy. They found, to their embarrassment, that with their theory, physics encounters consciousness. Authors Bruce Rosenblum and Fred Kuttner explain all this in non-technical terms with help from some fanciful stories and anecdotes about the theory's developers. They present the quantum mystery honestly, emphasizing what is and what is not speculation. Quantum Enigma's description of the experimental quantum facts, and the quantum theory explaining them, is undisputed. Interpreting what it all means, however, is heatedly controversial. But every interpretation of quantum physics involves consciousness. Rosenblum and Kuttner therefore turn to exploring consciousness itself--and encounter quantum mechanics. Free will and anthropic principles become crucial issues, and the connection of consciousness with the cosmos suggested by some leading quantum cosmologists is mind-blowing. Readers are brought to a boundary where the particular expertise of physicists is no longer the only sure guide. They will find, instead, the facts and hints provided by quantum mechanics and the ability to speculate for themselves. In the few decades since the Bell's theorem experiments established the existence of entanglement (Einstein's "spooky action"), interest in the foundations, and the mysteries, of quantum mechanics has accelerated. In recent years, physicists, philosophers, computer engineers, and even biologists have expanded our realization of the significance of quantum phenomena. This second edition includes such advances. The authors have also drawn on many responses from readers and instructors to improve the clarity of the book's explanations.

Beyond Bodies
Beyond Bodies

Author: Daphne M. Grace

Publisher: Rodopi

Published: 2014-05-01

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 9401210799

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“Articulations and expressions of gender can be destabilising, transgressive, revolutionary and radical, encompassing both a painful legacy of oppression and a joyous exploration of new experience.” Analysing key texts from the 19th to 21st centuries, this book explores a range of British and Anglophone authors to contextualise women’s writing and feminist theory with ongoing debates in consciousness studies. Discussing writers who strive to redefine the gendered world of “sexualized” space, whether internal or external, mental or physical, this book argues how the “delusion” of gender difference can be addressed and challenged. In literary theory and in representations of the female body in literature, identity has increasingly become a shifting, multiple, renegotiable—and controversial—concept. While acknowledging historical and cultural constructions of sexuality, “writing the body” must ultimately incorporate knowledge of human consciousness. Here, an understanding of consciousness from contemporary science (especially quantum theory)—as the fundamental building block of existence, beyond the body—allows unique insights into literary texts to elucidate the problem of subjectivity and what it means to be human. Including discussion of topics such as feminism and androgyny, agency and entrapment, masculinities and masquerade, insanity and emotion, and individual and social empowerment, this study also creates a lively engagement with the literary process as a means of fathoming the “enigma” of consciousness. Daphne Grace is Professor of English, specializing in postcolonial and transnational literature, gender and women’s studies, in addition to British literature of the 19th to 21st centuries. She currently teaches at the University of the Bahamas, and has also previously taught at Sussex University, England, and Eastern Mediterranean University in Cyprus.

The Enigma of the Mind
The Enigma of the Mind

Author: Sergio Moravia

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1995-01-27

Total Pages: 340

ISBN-13: 9780521405577

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Sergio Moravia's The Enigma of the Mind (originally published in Italian as L'enigma della mente) offers a broad and lucid critical and historical survey of one of the fundamental debates in the philosophy of mind - the relationship of mind and body. This problem continues to raise deep questions concerning the nature of man. The book has two central aims. First, Professor Moravia sketches the major recent contributions to the mind/body problem from philosophers of mind. Having established this framework Professor Moravia pursues his second aim - the articulation of a particular interpretation of the mental and the mind-body problem. The book's detailed and systematic treatment of this fundamental philosophical issue make it ideal for upper-level undergraduate and graduate courses in epistemology and the philosophy of mind. It should also prove provocative reading for psychologists and cognitive scientists.

The Enigma of Consciousness
The Enigma of Consciousness

Author: D. Dean Graves

Publisher: John Hunt Publishing

Published: 2024-08-30

Total Pages: 468

ISBN-13: 1803415789

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In The Enigma of Consciousness, Dean Graves delves deep into the mysteries of creation, exploring its origins and the structure that govern it, examining the purpose of creation and the role that the human mind plays in shaping it. The Archetypical Mind, the blueprint that guides the Earthly experience, is examined in detail, revealing the intricate web of connections that tie all things together. This is called the Law of One, and it is the one irrefutable truth. The Enigma of Consciousness explores the spiritual environments of human experience, from the physical realm to the highest levels of consciousness, and examines mankind's purpose in the universe and the specific steps necessary to achieve the highest enlightenment. Through a combination of philosophical inquiry and spiritual introspection, this book offers its reader a comprehensive understanding of creation and the human experience. It reveals the interconnectedness of all things and the power of the human mind to shape reality. An essential read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the nature of the universe and humanity's place within it, The Enigma of Consciousness offers practical guidance for those seeking spiritual growth and enlightenment as well as a roadmap for achieving a more profound connection with the universe and all that it encompasses.

Consciousness Demystified
Consciousness Demystified

Author: Todd E. Feinberg

Publisher: MIT Press

Published: 2018-09-25

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 0262038811

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Demystifying consciousness: how subjective experience can be explained by natural brain and evolutionary processes. Consciousness is often considered a mystery. How can the seemingly immaterial experience of consciousness be explained by the material neurons of the brain? There seems to be an unbridgeable gap between understanding the brain as an objectively observed biological organ and accounting for the subjective experiences that come from the brain (and life processes). In this book, Todd Feinberg and Jon Mallatt attempt to demystify consciousness—to naturalize it, by explaining that the subjective, experiencing aspects of consciousness are created by natural brain processes that evolved in natural ways. Although subjective experience is unique in nature, they argue, it is not necessarily mysterious. We need not invoke the unknown or unknowable to explain its creation. Feinberg and Mallatt flesh out their theory of neurobiological naturalism (after John Searle's biological naturalism) that recognizes the many features that brains share with other living things, lists the neural features unique to conscious brains, and explains the subjective–objective barrier naturally. They investigate common neural features among the diverse groups of animals that have primary consciousness—the type of consciousness that experiences both sensations received from the world and affects such as emotions. They map the evolutionary development of consciousness and find an uninterrupted progression over time, without inserting any mysterious forces or exotic physics. Finally, bridging the previously unbridgeable, they show how subjective experience, although different from objective observation, can be naturally explained.

The ESP Enigma
The ESP Enigma

Author: Diane Hennacy Powell

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 0802716067

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Integrating concepts from physics, neuroscience, and other disciplines, Dr. Powell offers an insightful and intriguing explanation of ESP, provocatively claiming that the existence of psychic abilities expands the understanding and appreciation of consciousness.

Kabbalistic Panpsychism
Kabbalistic Panpsychism

Author: Hyman M. Schipper

Publisher: John Hunt Publishing

Published: 2021-09-24

Total Pages: 159

ISBN-13: 1789045185

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From a scientific and philosophical point of view, there is arguably no phenomenon as intractable as the origin and nature of consciousness. This volume provides a comprehensive account of the Kabbalistic understanding of consciousness adduced from ancient Jewish mystical texts and the writings of key sixteenth-twentieth century Kabbalistic and Chassidic luminaries.

Out of Our Heads
Out of Our Heads

Author: Alva Noë

Publisher: Hill and Wang

Published: 2010-02-02

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 1429957190

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Alva Noë is one of a new breed—part philosopher, part cognitive scientist, part neuroscientist—who are radically altering the study of consciousness by asking difficult questions and pointing out obvious flaws in the current science. In Out of Our Heads, he restates and reexamines the problem of consciousness, and then proposes a startling solution: Do away with the two hundred-year-old paradigm that places consciousness within the confines of the brain. Our culture is obsessed with the brain—how it perceives; how it remembers; how it determines our intelligence, our morality, our likes and our dislikes. It's widely believed that consciousness itself, that Holy Grail of science and philosophy, will soon be given a neural explanation. And yet, after decades of research, only one proposition about how the brain makes us conscious—how it gives rise to sensation, feeling, and subjectivity—has emerged unchallenged: We don't have a clue. In this inventive work, Noë suggests that rather than being something that happens inside us, consciousness is something we do. Debunking an outmoded philosophy that holds the scientific study of consciousness captive, Out of Our Heads is a fresh attempt at understanding our minds and how we interact with the world around us.