Let me start this review with a quote from the introduction: "I am not a Buddhist. I have not joined any Buddhist orders, adopted any religious beliefs, nor taken any formal vows. I say this now because I do not want anyone to think I am writing under false pretenses. Nothing I say here should be taken as the words of a Zen Buddhist...This book is an exploration of ten of my favourite questions and where they took me...This book describes my own attempt to combine science and personal practice in the investigation of consciousness." As someone with a passing interest in philosophy, Buddhism, and the study of consciousness, I found the book quite interesting. My only real complaint is that perhaps Ms. Blackmore could have included a bit more "science." To be fair though, there is brief mention of familiar folks like Antonio Damasio
], Daniel Dennett, Benjamin Libet, Christof Koch, Alva Noe, and Richard Wiseman
], to name of few. On the plus side, I found myself agreeing completely with her general opinions, which she derives by the end of the book, on what consciousness is: "There is nothing it is like to be me. I am not a persisting conscious entity. I do not consciously cause the actions of my body. Consciousness is not a stream of experiences. Seeing entails no vivid mental pictures or movie in the brain. There is no unity of consciousness either in a given moment or through time. Brain activity is neither conscious nor unconscious. There are no contents of consciousness. There is no now."
The ten questions that Ms. Blackmore asks are: 1) Am I Conscious Now? 2) What Was I Conscious Of A Moment Ago? 3) Who Is Asking the Question? 4) Where Is This? 5) How Does Thought Arise? 6) There Is No Time. What is Memory? 7) When Are You? 8) Are You Here Now? 9) What Am I Doing? 10) What Happens Next?
In sum, this book makes a great prelude to her newer book,
Consciousness (A Brief Insight)
, and for an introduction to the study of consciousness, this pair can't be beat. Lastly, I would say that everything neuroscience is telling us now-a-days, [for example:
Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite: Evolution and the Modular Mind
,
Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
, or
The Tell-Tale Brain: A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human
] was presaged in many Buddhist writings, which makes this particular line of attack on consciousness studies very unique indeed. Highly recommended.
Enjoy fast, FREE delivery, exclusive deals and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Join or create book clubs
Choose books together
Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. Learn more
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Flip to back Flip to front
Follow the Author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Frequently bought together
$14.95
Get it as soon as Wednesday, Jun 7
Only 15 left in stock (more on the way).
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
What do customers buy after viewing this item?
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
A unique exploration by Susan Blackmore
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2014
Zen and the Art of ConsciousnessSusan BlackmoreOneworld, Oxford 2011For decades now, British psychologist Susan Blackmore has been writing about consciousness, about Zen Buddhism and numerous other subjects. As a young person she'd taken an interest in parapsychology but was put off when one of the researchers for whom she worked asked her to fudge the results [1]. She came around to being a skeptic of claims for paranormal experiences, although in her years of investigating people making such remarkable statements she became convinced that almost all of the people who make them weren't deliberate frauds, rather, that they believed that what was happening in their lives was genuine; but she has yet to be convinced of any such claims. Over the years her work has focused on things like consciousness studies, memes and tremes; and it is a running comment throughout her work that she practices Zen meditation. Better than a decade ago Oxford University Press published her Conversations on Consciousness, which was a delightful romp of visits with the leading-edge researchers in consciousness studies. Daniel Dennett, Sir Francis Crick, Patricia and Paul Churchland, Christof Koch among numerous others sat with her and her recorder and discussed with what is still a hot topic in science.Zen and the Art of Consciousness was originally published by Oneworld in 2009 as a hardcover with the title Ten Zen Questions; her publisher suggested the change of title when it came time to re-release it in paperback, to which she agreed. This is a highly personal and unique account of her pursuit of Zen meditation practice under the guidance of British Zen Master John Crook. She details her visits to Crook's meditation center in Maenllwyd, Wales, a rustic farm where Crook leads retreats for his students and practitioners. I should point out that while she practices Zen meditation, Susan Blackmore is not a Buddhist, preferring not the taking of vows and all of the things which entail entering a sangha, or Buddhist community.She began going to retreats at Maenllwyd in the early 1980s and each visit was a protracted consideration of a number of koans and koan-like statements given to her and the other participants by Crook. When are you? What were you conscious of a moment ago? There is no time. What is memory? Sitting on her mat day after day, Blackmore turned the 'challenge' of each koan over and over in her mind, in an intellectually curious way that most everyone might, but with the certain knowledge that if the koan were to "do" anything, it would not come about through discursive thought. Eventually her "analytic self" grew quiet and, in her words, each koan began working on her. She came away with numerous insights about the Self, that anxious, nervous worry-wart which we all have within - one of the aims of Zen - but more importantly from her viewpoint, she was gradually in a better place to understand just how far astray 'consciousness studies' have gone. To detail some of her conclusions would constitute a spoiler; let me grin and just say that her ideas are most congenial with those of Daniel Dennett.[1] This story is told in detail at Blackmore's website: http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/Chapters/Kurtz.htmand is an excerpt from 'Skeptical Odysseys: Personal Accounts by the World’s Leading Paranormal Inquirers', Amherst, New York, Prometheus Books, P.Kurtz, ed. 2001
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2014
Images in this review
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 3, 2014
Susan Blackmore
Oneworld, Oxford 2011
For decades now, British psychologist Susan Blackmore has been writing about consciousness, about Zen Buddhism and numerous other subjects. As a young person she'd taken an interest in parapsychology but was put off when one of the researchers for whom she worked asked her to fudge the results [1]. She came around to being a skeptic of claims for paranormal experiences, although in her years of investigating people making such remarkable statements she became convinced that almost all of the people who make them weren't deliberate frauds, rather, that they believed that what was happening in their lives was genuine; but she has yet to be convinced of any such claims. Over the years her work has focused on things like consciousness studies, memes and tremes; and it is a running comment throughout her work that she practices Zen meditation. Better than a decade ago Oxford University Press published her Conversations on Consciousness, which was a delightful romp of visits with the leading-edge researchers in consciousness studies. Daniel Dennett, Sir Francis Crick, Patricia and Paul Churchland, Christof Koch among numerous others sat with her and her recorder and discussed with what is still a hot topic in science.
Zen and the Art of Consciousness was originally published by Oneworld in 2009 as a hardcover with the title Ten Zen Questions; her publisher suggested the change of title when it came time to re-release it in paperback, to which she agreed. This is a highly personal and unique account of her pursuit of Zen meditation practice under the guidance of British Zen Master John Crook. She details her visits to Crook's meditation center in Maenllwyd, Wales, a rustic farm where Crook leads retreats for his students and practitioners. I should point out that while she practices Zen meditation, Susan Blackmore is not a Buddhist, preferring not the taking of vows and all of the things which entail entering a sangha, or Buddhist community.
She began going to retreats at Maenllwyd in the early 1980s and each visit was a protracted consideration of a number of koans and koan-like statements given to her and the other participants by Crook. When are you? What were you conscious of a moment ago? There is no time. What is memory? Sitting on her mat day after day, Blackmore turned the 'challenge' of each koan over and over in her mind, in an intellectually curious way that most everyone might, but with the certain knowledge that if the koan were to "do" anything, it would not come about through discursive thought. Eventually her "analytic self" grew quiet and, in her words, each koan began working on her. She came away with numerous insights about the Self, that anxious, nervous worry-wart which we all have within - one of the aims of Zen - but more importantly from her viewpoint, she was gradually in a better place to understand just how far astray 'consciousness studies' have gone. To detail some of her conclusions would constitute a spoiler; let me grin and just say that her ideas are most congenial with those of Daniel Dennett.
[1] This story is told in detail at Blackmore's website:
http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/Chapters/Kurtz.htm
and is an excerpt from 'Skeptical Odysseys: Personal Accounts by the World’s Leading Paranormal Inquirers', Amherst, New York, Prometheus Books, P.Kurtz, ed. 2001
A unique exploration by Susan Blackmore
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 3, 2014
Zen and the Art of ConsciousnessReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 3, 2014
Susan Blackmore
Oneworld, Oxford 2011
For decades now, British psychologist Susan Blackmore has been writing about consciousness, about Zen Buddhism and numerous other subjects. As a young person she'd taken an interest in parapsychology but was put off when one of the researchers for whom she worked asked her to fudge the results [1]. She came around to being a skeptic of claims for paranormal experiences, although in her years of investigating people making such remarkable statements she became convinced that almost all of the people who make them weren't deliberate frauds, rather, that they believed that what was happening in their lives was genuine; but she has yet to be convinced of any such claims. Over the years her work has focused on things like consciousness studies, memes and tremes; and it is a running comment throughout her work that she practices Zen meditation. Better than a decade ago Oxford University Press published her Conversations on Consciousness, which was a delightful romp of visits with the leading-edge researchers in consciousness studies. Daniel Dennett, Sir Francis Crick, Patricia and Paul Churchland, Christof Koch among numerous others sat with her and her recorder and discussed with what is still a hot topic in science.
Zen and the Art of Consciousness was originally published by Oneworld in 2009 as a hardcover with the title Ten Zen Questions; her publisher suggested the change of title when it came time to re-release it in paperback, to which she agreed. This is a highly personal and unique account of her pursuit of Zen meditation practice under the guidance of British Zen Master John Crook. She details her visits to Crook's meditation center in Maenllwyd, Wales, a rustic farm where Crook leads retreats for his students and practitioners. I should point out that while she practices Zen meditation, Susan Blackmore is not a Buddhist, preferring not the taking of vows and all of the things which entail entering a sangha, or Buddhist community.
She began going to retreats at Maenllwyd in the early 1980s and each visit was a protracted consideration of a number of koans and koan-like statements given to her and the other participants by Crook. When are you? What were you conscious of a moment ago? There is no time. What is memory? Sitting on her mat day after day, Blackmore turned the 'challenge' of each koan over and over in her mind, in an intellectually curious way that most everyone might, but with the certain knowledge that if the koan were to "do" anything, it would not come about through discursive thought. Eventually her "analytic self" grew quiet and, in her words, each koan began working on her. She came away with numerous insights about the Self, that anxious, nervous worry-wart which we all have within - one of the aims of Zen - but more importantly from her viewpoint, she was gradually in a better place to understand just how far astray 'consciousness studies' have gone. To detail some of her conclusions would constitute a spoiler; let me grin and just say that her ideas are most congenial with those of Daniel Dennett.
[1] This story is told in detail at Blackmore's website:
http://www.susanblackmore.co.uk/Chapters/Kurtz.htm
and is an excerpt from 'Skeptical Odysseys: Personal Accounts by the World’s Leading Paranormal Inquirers', Amherst, New York, Prometheus Books, P.Kurtz, ed. 2001
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 30, 2011
Top reviews from other countries
Helen L
Extremely westernised, simplified and at times, racist.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 20, 2020
