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What altered states of consciousness—the dissolution of feelings of time and self—can tell us about the mystery of consciousness. During extraordinary moments of consciousness—shock, meditative states and sudden mystical revelations, out-of-body experiences, or drug intoxication—our senses of time and self are altered; we may even feel time and self dissolving. These experiences have long been ignored by mainstream science, or considered crazy fantasies. Recent research, however, has located the neural underpinnings of these altered states of mind. In this book, neuropsychologist Marc Wittmann shows how experiences that disturb or widen our everyday understanding of the self can help solve the mystery of consciousness. Wittmann explains that the relationship between consciousness of time and consciousness of self is close; in extreme circumstances, the experiences of space and self intensify and weaken together. He considers the emergence of the self in waking life and dreams; how our sense of time is distorted by extreme situations ranging from terror to mystical enlightenment; the experience of the moment; and the loss of time and self in such disorders as depression, schizophrenia, and epilepsy. Dostoyevsky reported godly bliss during epileptic seizures; neurologists are now investigating the phenomenon of the epileptic aura. Wittmann describes new studies of psychedelics that show how the brain builds consciousness of self and time, and discusses pilot programs that use hallucinogens to treat severe depression, anxiety, and addiction. If we want to understand our consciousness, our subjectivity, Wittmann argues, we must not be afraid to break new ground. Studying altered states of consciousness leads us directly to the heart of the matter: time and self, the foundations of consciousness.
What is it like to be an artist? Drawing on interviews with professional artists, this book takes the reader inside the creative process. The author, an artist and a psychotherapist, uses psychoanalytic theory to shed light on fundamental questions such as the origin of new ideas and the artist’s state of mind while working. Based on interviews with 33 professional artists, who reflect on their experiences of creating new works of art, as well as her own artistic practice, Patricia Townsend traces the trajectory of the creative process from the artist’s first inkling or ‘pre-sense’, through to the completion of a work, and its release to the public. Drawing on psychoanalytic theory, particularly the work of Donald Winnicott, Marion Milner and Christopher Bollas, the book presents the artist’s process as a series of interconnected and overlapping stages, in which there is a movement between the artist’s inner world, the outer world of shared ‘reality’, and the spaces in-between. Creative States of Mind: Psychoanalysis and the Artist’s Process fills an important gap in the psychoanalytic theory of art by offering an account of the full trajectory of the artist’s process based on the evidence of artists themselves. It will be useful to artists who want to understand more about their own processes, to psychoanalysts and psychotherapists in their clinical work, and to anyone who studies the creative process.
What makes a person the same person over time? This book provides an ‘externalist’ metaphysical account of personal identity and its ethical implications.
In this extensive inquiry into the sources of modern selfhood, Charles Taylor demonstrates just how rich and precious those resources are. The modern turn to subjectivity, with its attendant rejection of an objective order of reason, has led—it seems to many—to mere subjectivism at the mildest and to sheer nihilism at the worst. Many critics believe that the modern order has no moral backbone and has proved corrosive to all that might foster human good. Taylor rejects this view. He argues that, properly understood, our modern notion of the self provides a framework that more than compensates for the abandonment of substantive notions of rationality. The major insight of Sources of the Self is that modern subjectivity, in all its epistemological, aesthetic, and political ramifications, has its roots in ideas of human good. After first arguing that contemporary philosophers have ignored how self and good connect, the author defines the modern identity by describing its genesis. His effort to uncover and map our moral sources leads to novel interpretations of most of the figures and movements in the modern tradition. Taylor shows that the modern turn inward is not disastrous but is in fact the result of our long efforts to define and reach the good. At the heart of this definition he finds what he calls the affirmation of ordinary life, a value which has decisively if not completely replaced an older conception of reason as connected to a hierarchy based on birth and wealth. In telling the story of a revolution whose proponents have been Augustine, Montaigne, Luther, and a host of others, Taylor’s goal is in part to make sure we do not lose sight of their goal and endanger all that has been achieved. Sources of the Self provides a decisive defense of the modern order and a sharp rebuff to its critics.
This text states that democratic governments must be accountable to the electorate; but they must also be subject to restraint and oversight by other public agencies. The state must control itself. This text explores how new democracies can achieve this goal.
The Self on the Shelf examines the cultural and philosophical determinants of popular “recovery” books. Greenberg argues that this literature can be read as documents of the prevailing understanding of the self in American society. The construction of the self promoted by recovery literature is seen as a nihilistic one insofar as it denies the significance of what continental philosophy calls the Other. In this sense the self-help books are correct in their assertion that we have lost sight of how to love, but their proposed solution shows up as a recapitulation and strengthening of the conditions that gave rise to this situation in the first place. Greenberg’s critique provides a commentary on the difficulties that face our culture in achieving any sense of meaningful community, and on the way that this problem surfaces in a highly popular discourse.
With Forewords by Albert Einstein - Recently Discovered - Electrons that become 'Entangled' learn about a partner Electron and never forget. Is this the first level of Consciousness in the universe? The author - Scientist, Michael Mathiesen believes it is and has penned an easy to understand explanation of the latest Particle Physics that shows how we are all 'FOOLED' by the smallest things in the universe on a daily basis - even minute by minute. If you have ever wondered why it is so difficult to overcome your "FATE" - this may be the book for you. The book is the most intense and detailed explanation of how the universe is formed that you will ever encounter. However, at the same time, the concepts are made extremely easy to understand. Albert Einstein said: "The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible." In other words, when you strip out all of the abstract mathematical junk about how things work, the basic concepts are easy to understand for anyone, not only Einstein and this author proves Einstein correct by showing how easy it is. When you fully understand the 4 States of Consciousness, your life becomes your own. Until you learn about the 4 states, your life will continue along at the mercy of random events. Do you feel it's time to take control of your life on an even higher plane of existence? If so, this may be the book for you. However, you should read this book only if you are curious about the basic foundation of the universe - how it's made - and why it is made the way it is. The author makes the case nicely that the entire reason the universe is made the way it is - is exclusively to support life. AND - You are included. If you are interested in your life and how it goes, this is the book for you. If you have no interest in life on Earth and in the universe as a whole, would like more information about the Creator, then this is NOT the book for you. It all starts at the Electronic State of Consciousness, literally, the electrons that are at home in your brain and make up your 'mind'. This moves up to the Rotational State of Consciousness, the energy created by billions upon billions of electrons that swirl about to form the atoms that make up your own life and the life of all other things. This moves up to the Vibrational State of Consciousness, the atoms revolving around each other to form the molecules that are the fundamental building blocks of all the mechanisms of you. The Vibrational State of Consciousness resonates throughout the universe in the form of 'Music'. When you feel it, you're there. All of this culminates in the 4th and highest state of Consciousness - the Feedback Loop. You know the 'Feedback Loop' as your ego. The 'I', the self. When you sense the world around you and make judgments about it, react to it, plan for the events in your life, doing whatever comes naturally every day, this is the 'Feedback Loop' where your own reactions to the trials in your life everyday is recorded. The 'Feedback' you give to the Source is what it's all about and why you were placed on this planet at this particular time. Giving greater and greater feedback, brings its own rewards. The proof of the theory is that predictions made by the theory are shown by others. Take the Final Proof challenge and apply these concepts in your own life. My prediction is that your life will improve beyond your wildest dreams. If so, all we ask is that you publish your own results in the form of a review. Learn how we're all part of the Feedback Loop, the 4th and highest state of Consciousness.
This is a story of hope, but also of peril. It began when our nation’s polarized political class started conscripting everyday citizens into its culture war. From their commanding heights in political parties, media, academia, and government, these partisans have attacked one another for years, but increasingly they’ve convinced everyday Americans to join the fray. Why should we feel such animosity toward our fellow citizens, our neighbors, even our own kin? Because we’ve fallen for the false narrative, eagerly promoted by pundits on the Left and the Right, that citizens who happen to vote Democrat or Republican are enthusiastic supporters of Team Blue or Team Red. Aside from a minority of party activists and partisans, however, most voters are simply trying to choose the lesser of two evils. The real threat to our union isn’t Red vs. Blue America, it’s the quiet collusion within our nation’s political class to take away that most American of freedoms: our right to self-governance. Even as partisans work overtime to divide Americans against one another, they’ve erected a system under which we ordinary citizens don’t have a voice in the decisions that affect our lives. From foreign wars to how local libraries are run, authority no longer resides with We the People, but amongst unaccountable officials. The political class has stolen our birthright and set us at one another’s throats. This is the story of how that happened and what we can do about it. America stands at a precipice, but there’s still time to reclaim authority over our lives and communities.
This groundbreaking book is an elegant exploration of the Upanisads, often considered the fountainhead of the rich, varied philosophical tradition in India. The Upaniṣads, in addition to their philosophical content, have a number of sections that contain narratives and dialogues—a literary dimension largely ignored by the Indian philosophical tradition, as well as by modern scholars. Brian Black draws attention to these literary elements and demonstrates that they are fundamental to understanding the philosophical claims of the text. Focusing on the Upanisadic notion of the self (ātman), the book is organized into four main sections that feature a lesson taught by a brahmin teacher to a brahmin student, debates between brahmins, discussions between brahmins and kings, and conversations between brahmins and women. These dialogical situations feature dramatic elements that bring attention to both the participants and the social contexts of Upanisadic philosophy, characterizing philosophy as something achieved through discussion and debate. In addition to making a number of innovative arguments, the author also guides the reader through these profound and engaging texts, offering ways of reading the Upaniṣads that make them more understandable and accessible.