![Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation, and Philosophy by [Thompson, Evan]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61UXTvN5VhL._SY346_.jpg)
This book covers a wide-ranging gamut of topics around consciousness, including various aspects of perception, awareness, dreaming/lucid dreaming, sleeping, dying, and a theory of the "enacted self" ("I" as a process). The chapters are chock-full of references to neuroscience studies that are quite relevant, presented neatly in context, and highly thought-provoking. The philosophical discussion (mostly Buddhist and some Vedanta) is well integrated and logically presented. The tone is simulanteously openminded and sober, striking an intriguing balance somewhere between the skepticism of Sam Harris and the idealism of Deepak Chopra.
One challenge for me was wading through some of the verbose logical explanations and repetition of some concepts. In places, the book seemed to be written to anticipate the arguments of adversarial philosophers; those parts were less interesting to me. I didn't care how well the book could defend some esoteric models or refute others. What interested me was how well it could bring together philosophical and neuroscientific perspectives, in a way that suggested promising avenues for both experiential and research investigation. It did a fine job at this.
The book concludes with an "enacted self" theory on the nature of the ego's construction, which brings together various threads explored in earlier chapters. As far as theories of enlightenment go, it's fairly restrained. It successfully resists (as does the book as a whole) the temptation to claim knowledge beyond one's own experience. It serves to close out the book on its own terms. For me, the book's conclusion was secondary. What's more compelling is the wide-ranging look at the current state and thoughtful recommendations for future work at the intersection of neuroscience, philosophy, and phenomenology.
- File Size: 934 KB
- Print Length: 498 pages
- Publisher: Columbia University Press (November 18, 2014)
- Publication Date: November 18, 2014
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00O0G161C
- Text-to-Speech:
Enabled
- Word Wise: Enabled
- Lending: Not Enabled
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#394,877 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #141 in Humanism Philosophy
- #321 in Religious Studies - Science & Religion
- #368 in Neuroscience (Kindle Store)
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