Mind Before Matter: Vision of a New Science of Consciousness (Paperback)

~ Trish Pfeiffer (Editor), John E. Mack (Editor), Paul Devereux (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Materialism is the dominant worldview in the West today. But it is only one worldview, and it doesn't completely work, even, ironically, being gradually undermined by the science that gave rise to it. Containing the last unpublished writing of Pulitzer prize-winning author and scholar, the late John Mack, this anthology of essays from significant figures in the world of science and consciousness studies sketches the framework for a new model of realit--one based on the primacy of consciousness rather than of matter. It is a model we will need for survival on this planet. Mind Before Matter represents the first concerted salvo in a debate that could affect the worldview held by the modern, dominant culture.

About the Author

Co-editor and initiator of the anthology, Trish Pfeiffer, was co-chair with John Mack in the Center for Psychology and Social Change. She was also Creative Director for Superlearning, Inc. in New York City and a founder of the Marion (Foundation) Institute co-creating programs exploring frontier science and human potential. She is on the Advisory Board of the Friends of the Institute of Noetic Sciences. John E. Mack, M.D. (1929-2004) was a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer whose efforts to bridge psychiatry and spirituality were compared by The New York Times to that of fellow Harvard professor William James. Larry Dossey, M.D. is a lecturer and author of ten books on the interrelationship of consciousness, spirituality and healing. Contributors include Christopher Bache, Anne Baring, Amit Goswami, Ervin Laszlo, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Elisabet Sahtouris, Riachard Tarnas and Hank Wesselman.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: O Books (November 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846940575
• ISBN-13: 978-1846940576
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #236,014 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mind Before Matter, February 15, 2008

By	Tami Brady "Whole Health Therapist" (Calgary, Canada) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The debate between science and religion is a no win situation. Religion is based upon faith that by definition defies the notion of needing proof. Science, on the other hand, looks only to the facts, as they can be tested at this particular time. The two come from such polar opposites that any sort of compromise seems impossible. Religion fixated on the hereafter. Science stuck in the physical.

What if a compromise were possible? Could the best of both views be used for the betterment of our world? What would our world look like if we took our desire to investigate and question our surroundings while seeking to make our world a more loving, connected place?

Mind Before Matter is a series of essays and articles written about the potentials of science and religion. Many of these pieces look to use science in new ways to move past the local, finite world of science into further exploration of the nonlocal nature of the subconscious. All invite the reader to look past the normal one dimensional way of thinking to investigate the potentials of the subconscious, the mind, and the spirit.

Mind Before Matter presents some very intriguing insight into the possibilities of science and the subconscious. While not really light reading, I do highly suggest tackling this compilation to anyone remotely interested in this subject. It's well worth the effort.