Showing titles in Consciousness & Thought

"Consciousness matters. Arguably it matters more than anything. The purpose of this book is to build towards an explanation of just what the matter is."

Nicholas Humphrey begins this compelling exploration of the biggest of big questions with a challenge to the reader, and himself. What's involved in "seeing red"? What is it like for us to see someone else seeing something red? Seeing a red screen tells us a fact about something in the world. But it also creates a new fact - a sensation in each of our minds, the feeling of redness.

In this bold and interdisciplinary journey through neuroscience, theoretical physics, and artificial intelligence, neurologist Dr. Chris Reynolds proposes a revolutionary model of consciousness: the Probability Clock. At the heart of this model lies the thalamus—a central brain structure long known for relaying sensory input. But in Reynolds’ view, the thalamus does far more: it recursively filters, times, and shapes experience itself.

Philosophy of Mind: A Very Short Introduction probes some of the great philosophical questions about the mind: What is the relationship between mind and matter? Can science unravel the mystery of consciousness? How can our thoughts represent things in the world? Are computers genuinely intelligent? In the book, Barbara Gail Montero highlights key thought experiments used by philosophers to explore the nature of mind and how mind and body relate to each other (the mind-body problem).

In a world awash with illusion and misinformation, this is a profound and practical guide towards clarity. It has philosophy for non-philosophers, hypnosis for non-hypnotists, and stories for hungry hearts. From Arizona to Madagascar, we join an intriguing journey in search of understanding via psychotherapy, storytelling, and the British Library, uncovering on our way the vulnerabilities that lurk within our language.

In But Are You Alive?, entrepreneur and teacher Eloise Skinner explores lessons learned from a decade spent pursuing depth, purpose and meaning, including from her training in a monastic community and in the field of existential therapy. Working through practical exercises, principles and tools, Eloise shares wisdom and actionable advice from a variety of traditions and perspectives, all with the intention of helping listeners find a sense of deeper 'aliveness' in daily life.

What is the human mind’s relationship to the ‘ground’? Why has man accumulated knowledge? When you love somebody there is no ‘me’, it is love. In the same way, when I say I am humanity, it is so. It is not an idea; it is not a conclusion; it is part of me. There is only one thing, and that is to discover that what I have done is useless, ashes.

Can insight change the brain cells? In the brain, is there an activity that is not touched by consciousness? Insight is not dependent on the material process, which is thought. Where there is violence, peace cannot exist. Where there is peace, is there violence? As insight is causeless, is not born out of cause, that insight has a definite effect on that which has cause. The material process acts in ignorance, in darkness.

We shall explore together into this life, existence, in which is included relationship, love and death, not merely as a phenomenon but as something tremendously significant, to be cherished, deeply lived. Meditation is the approach to this problem of living.

Paul Thagard explores the physiological workings and metaphorical resonance of balance in the brain, the body, and society. He describes the neural mechanisms that keep bodies balanced and explains why their failures can result in nausea, falls, or vertigo. Thagard connects bodily balance with leading ideas in neuroscience, including the nature of consciousness.

Cuando su marido la abandonó, Rosemary Altea se dio cuenta de que el miedo había sido su compañero desde la cuna. Miedo a un padre con la severidad propia del militar y a una madre incapaz de mostrar ternura; miedo a los rostros y las voces que poblaban las noches de su niñez, a las extrañas percepciones que la estremecían, a todo cuanto la acercara a su abuela Eliza. No fue fácil para ella aceptar que poseía un don para comunicarse con los espíritus.

Although there are many kinds of love, erotic love has been celebrated in art and poetry as life's most rewarding and exalting experience, worth living and dying for and bringing out the best in ourselves. And yet it has excused, and even been thought to justify, the most reprehensible crimes.

Empathy is an extremely powerful ability. It allows one to feel what others are feeling, sympathize with them, and eventually influence their emotions to help them overcome any negative feelings. This sensitivity to emotions can sometimes reflect negatively on empaths - they are often victims of dark psychology techniques. Luckily, there’s a way that allows empaths to protect their mind against emotional predators, and achieve superior control over their empathic powers – Stoicism!

Personal, reflective, and gently investigative, these early essays have a raw, fresh quality which predates the more formal theory and practice of Peter Ralston's two popular books, The Book of Not Knowing and Pursuing Consciousness. Many of the questions we might struggle with in life - identity in relation to others, authenticity in the face of belief systems, the draw we have to pursue ineffective self-serving urges, and our tendency to conceptualize rather than experience things - are described here in simple, almost conversational language.

Since the publication of The Prince five centuries ago, Machiavelli has been associated with political amorality. But that characterization is unfair. In Be Like the Fox, Erica Benner sets the record straight: far from the ruthless "Machiavellian" henchman that people think he was, Machiavelli emerges here as a profound ethical thinker who fought to uphold high moral standards and restore the democratic freedoms of his beloved Florence.

Soul Machine takes us back to the origins of modernity, a time when a crisis in religious authority and the scientific revolution led to searching questions about the nature of human inner life. This is the story of how a new concept - the mind - emerged as a potential solution, one that was part soul and part machine but fully neither.

Ikigai is a Japanese concept that is often translated as "reason for being" or "purpose in life." It is the driving force behind what makes us happy and fulfilled, and is often used to describe the unique passions and talents that give our lives meaning and purpose. In this audiobook, you will learn all about Ikigai and how you can use it to discover and live your purpose in life. You will learn about the principles of Ikigai and how you can use it to improve your overall well-being.

"Von der Kürze des Lebens" ist ein philosophisches Meisterwerk der Weltliteratur und eine der bedeutendsten Schriften Senecas. Als Teil seiner "Dialoge" gehört es zum Kernbestand der stoischen Philosophie. Mit eindringlicher Klarheit richtet sich der Text gegen Zeitverschwendung, Zerstreuung und den unreflektierten äußeren Lebenswandel. In seinem Appell zur Lebenskunst macht Seneca deutlich: Das Leben ist nicht zu kurz – es wird nur allzu oft falsch genutzt. Die Schrift lädt ein, innezuhalten, Prioritäten zu hinterfragen und sich auf das Wesentliche zu besinnen.

In diesem siebten Abschnitt widmet sich Lucius Annaeus Seneca – einer der bedeutendsten Denker des antiken Rom – der zentralen Frage: Wie erreicht man ein wahrhaft glückliches Leben? Für Seneca führt der Weg zum Glück nicht über äußeren Reichtum, sondern über innere Klarheit, Vernunft und Tugend. Die Schrift ist ein präzises, eindringliches Plädoyer für ein tugendhaftes, freies Leben im Einklang mit der stoischen Philosophie.

Lucius Annaeus Seneca (ca. 1–65 n. Chr.) zählt zu den einflussreichsten Philosophen der römischen Antike. In seiner Schriftensammlung "Dialoge" widmet er sich im neunten Abschnitt der "Gemütsruhe". Als bedeutender Vertreter der Stoa zeigt Seneca, wie innere Ruhe auch inmitten äußerer Turbulenzen möglich ist. Diese philosophische Reflexion lädt ein, über Bedürfnisse, Gelassenheit, das Menschenbild in der Gesellschaft und den Weg zu innerer Balance nachzudenken – ein zentrales Werk stoischer Weisheit.

Can a mind be free of authority so that there is no impingement of the past, so that the mind is always alert, learning in the present? Can the mind experience, go through a challenge so completely that it leaves no mark? The mind must purge itself of the social morality in order to be moral. Has experience any value at all? Attention is the highest form of the good. What is the relationship between two human beings when there are no images? What is wisdom?