The Illusion of Will, Self, and Time

The Illusion of Will, Self, and Time PDF Author: Jonathan Bricklin
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 1438456271
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 405

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Book Description
Discusses how William James’s work suggests a world without will, self, or time and how research supports this perspective. William James is often considered a scientist compromised by his advocacy of mysticism and parapsychology. Jonathan Bricklin argues James can also be viewed as a mystic compromised by his commitment to common sense. James wanted to believe in will, self, and time, but his deepest insights suggested otherwise. “Is consciousness already there waiting to be uncovered and is it a veridical revelation of reality?” James asked shortly before his death in 1910. A century after his death, research from neuroscience, physics, psychology, and parapsychology is making the case, both theoretically and experimentally, that answers James’s question in the affirmative. By separating what James passionately wanted to believe, based on common sense, from what his insights and researches led him to believe, Bricklin shows how James himself laid the groundwork for this more challenging view of existence. The non-reality of will, self, and time is consistent with James’s psychology of volition, his epistemology of self, and his belief that Newtonian, objective, even-flowing time does not exist.

The Illusion of Will, Self, and Time

The Illusion of Will, Self, and Time PDF Author: Jonathan Bricklin
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 1438456271
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 405

Get Book

Book Description
Discusses how William James’s work suggests a world without will, self, or time and how research supports this perspective. William James is often considered a scientist compromised by his advocacy of mysticism and parapsychology. Jonathan Bricklin argues James can also be viewed as a mystic compromised by his commitment to common sense. James wanted to believe in will, self, and time, but his deepest insights suggested otherwise. “Is consciousness already there waiting to be uncovered and is it a veridical revelation of reality?” James asked shortly before his death in 1910. A century after his death, research from neuroscience, physics, psychology, and parapsychology is making the case, both theoretically and experimentally, that answers James’s question in the affirmative. By separating what James passionately wanted to believe, based on common sense, from what his insights and researches led him to believe, Bricklin shows how James himself laid the groundwork for this more challenging view of existence. The non-reality of will, self, and time is consistent with James’s psychology of volition, his epistemology of self, and his belief that Newtonian, objective, even-flowing time does not exist.

The Illusion of Conscious Will

The Illusion of Conscious Will PDF Author: Daniel M. Wegner
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262290553
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 725

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Book Description
A novel contribution to the age-old debate about free will versus determinism. Do we consciously cause our actions, or do they happen to us? Philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, theologians, and lawyers have long debated the existence of free will versus determinism. In this book Daniel Wegner offers a novel understanding of the issue. Like actions, he argues, the feeling of conscious will is created by the mind and brain. Yet if psychological and neural mechanisms are responsible for all human behavior, how could we have conscious will? The feeling of conscious will, Wegner shows, helps us to appreciate and remember our authorship of the things our minds and bodies do. Yes, we feel that we consciously will our actions, Wegner says, but at the same time, our actions happen to us. Although conscious will is an illusion, it serves as a guide to understanding ourselves and to developing a sense of responsibility and morality. Approaching conscious will as a topic of psychological study, Wegner examines the issue from a variety of angles. He looks at illusions of the will—those cases where people feel that they are willing an act that they are not doing or, conversely, are not willing an act that they in fact are doing. He explores conscious will in hypnosis, Ouija board spelling, automatic writing, and facilitated communication, as well as in such phenomena as spirit possession, dissociative identity disorder, and trance channeling. The result is a book that sidesteps endless debates to focus, more fruitfully, on the impact on our lives of the illusion of conscious will.

The Self Illusion

The Self Illusion PDF Author: Bruce Hood
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199969892
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
Most of us believe that we are unique and coherent individuals, but are we? The idea of a "self" has existed ever since humans began to live in groups and become sociable. Those who embrace the self as an individual in the West, or a member of the group in the East, feel fulfilled and purposeful. This experience seems incredibly real but a wealth of recent scientific evidence reveals that this notion of the independent, coherent self is an illusion - it is not what it seems. Reality as we perceive it is not something that objectively exists, but something that our brains construct from moment to moment, interpreting, summarizing, and substituting information along the way. Like a science fiction movie, we are living in a matrix that is our mind. In The Self Illusion, Dr. Bruce Hood reveals how the self emerges during childhood and how the architecture of the developing brain enables us to become social animals dependent on each other. He explains that self is the product of our relationships and interactions with others, and it exists only in our brains. The author argues, however, that though the self is an illusion, it is one that humans cannot live without. But things are changing as our technology develops and shapes society. The social bonds and relationships that used to take time and effort to form are now undergoing a revolution as we start to put our self online. Social networking activities such as blogging, Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter threaten to change the way we behave. Social networking is fast becoming socialization on steroids. The speed and ease at which we can form alliances and relationships is outstripping the same selection processes that shaped our self prior to the internet era. This book ventures into unchartered territory to explain how the idea of the self will never be the same again in the online social world.

Nothing Personal: Seeing Beyond the Illusion of a Separate Self

Nothing Personal: Seeing Beyond the Illusion of a Separate Self PDF Author: Nirmala
Publisher: Endless Satsang Foundation
ISBN: 145230436X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Advaita and nondual teachings are about finding the Truth. This Truth is not a dogma that you study; it is the Truth about life †the Truth about who you really are. This Truth is discovered, not learned. It is discovered through sincerely inquiring, Who am I? What you discover is that who you are has nothing to do with self-images or roles and everything to do with what you experience when you ask this question. What you discover is that who you think of yourself as is just that †a thought! And beyond that thought is a great Mystery †an experience of nothingness, which is your true nature.Nothing Personal leads you to the experience of your true nature and helps you explore its depth. Through exposition, questions and dialogues, it brings you to a place of realization of the Truth: you are that spacious Awareness in which everything appears, including your thoughts and feelings. Your thoughts and feelings do not define you but merely appear within Consciousness along with everything else. This Consciousness is who you are.Nothing Personal offers a gentle and persistent guide to seeing the underlying truth of your ultimate nature. In this concisely edited collection of satsang talks and dialogues, you are invited to honor the limitless love that is your true nature and to enjoy the sweet richness that is revealed when you give this Truth your undivided attention.From the introduction:Unlike most books, this one is not meant to add to your knowledge or understanding. It is about the Truth that cannot be spoken or written. Although the Truth cannot be contained in this or any other book, each word written here is intended to point you toward that Truth. Many of the words and ideas may seem paradoxical or contradictory because what they point to is larger than our conceptual frameworks. Many questions are asked, which are not answered anywhere in the book. Find out what the experience is like to ask yourself these questions, even if they leave you emptier of knowledge and understanding. In this emptying, you just may discover what you are looking for.The Truth is revealed when we allow ourselves to not know, so I invite you to set aside all that you know for the time being and allow yourself to look with innocent eyes at what the words are attempting to unveil. Take the time to experience the unspoken truth in each section before moving on to the next. Resist the temptation to read these words with your mind, which is likely to rush right past the Truth. Allow the words to sink into your heart and reveal the truth of who you are.

Transcending Illusion

Transcending Illusion PDF Author: Thea Ivie
Publisher: Gurulight
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
In the early 1960’s Thea Ishwari Ivie traveled to India to be with realized souls because of a deep longing to know God. Thea has met, trained under, and served many great, realized masters including Swami Ramdas, Ananda Moyi Ma, Swami Muktananda, Dhyanyogi, Sri Karunamayi, Swami Vishwananda, and Mohanji. In Thea Ivie’s autobiography, Transcending Illusion: Theodora’s Journey Through Time, she describes her incredible story of her path to enlightenment and the struggles and triumphs along the way. Thea is extremely candid about her journey and outlines a path for all to follow. “One must want realization above all else,” she says, "and to know their true state of Oneness, which is always there.” Clairvoyant since childhood, Thea Ivie has helped thousands of people through her healing practice, releasing trauma, blockages and more through deep faith and prayer to the individual’s own masters, guides and angels. Thea claims no doer-ship in the healing process, but only acts as a vehicle for God's divine grace, love and mercy.

There Is No You

There Is No You PDF Author: Andre Halaw
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 60

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Book Description
Nearly every religion, philosophy, and worldview has one belief in common - they all subscribe to the "I" myth, the idea that there is some "I" at the core of each person. This universal fallacy is the root of all human misery and suffering. It is the aim of this work to prove that no such being as an "I" or "you" exists. With any luck, it will be disastrous to your sense of self.

The Knowledge Illusion

The Knowledge Illusion PDF Author: Steven Sloman
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0399184341
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
“The Knowledge Illusion is filled with insights on how we should deal with our individual ignorance and collective wisdom.” —Steven Pinker We all think we know more than we actually do. Humans have built hugely complex societies and technologies, but most of us don’t even know how a pen or a toilet works. How have we achieved so much despite understanding so little? Cognitive scientists Steven Sloman and Philip Fernbach argue that we survive and thrive despite our mental shortcomings because we live in a rich community of knowledge. The key to our intelligence lies in the people and things around us. We’re constantly drawing on information and expertise stored outside our heads: in our bodies, our environment, our possessions, and the community with which we interact—and usually we don’t even realize we’re doing it. The human mind is both brilliant and pathetic. We have mastered fire, created democratic institutions, stood on the moon, and sequenced our genome. And yet each of us is error prone, sometimes irrational, and often ignorant. The fundamentally communal nature of intelligence and knowledge explains why we often assume we know more than we really do, why political opinions and false beliefs are so hard to change, and why individual-oriented approaches to education and management frequently fail. But our collaborative minds also enable us to do amazing things. The Knowledge Illusion contends that true genius can be found in the ways we create intelligence using the community around us.

A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time PDF Author: Madeleine L'Engle
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
ISBN: 1429915641
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 260

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Book Description
NEWBERY MEDAL WINNER • TIME MAGAZINE’S 100 BEST FANTASY BOOKS OF ALL TIME • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE FROM DISNEY Read the ground-breaking science fiction and fantasy classic that has delighted children for over 60 years! "A Wrinkle in Time is one of my favorite books of all time. I've read it so often, I know it by heart." —Meg Cabot Late one night, three otherworldly creatures appear and sweep Meg Murry, her brother Charles Wallace, and their friend Calvin O'Keefe away on a mission to save Mr. Murray, who has gone missing while doing top-secret work for the government. They travel via tesseract--a wrinkle that transports one across space and time--to the planet Camazotz, where Mr. Murray is being held captive. There they discover a dark force that threatens not only Mr. Murray but the safety of the whole universe. A Wrinkle in Time is the first book in Madeleine L’Engle’s Time Quintet.

One Mind At A Time

One Mind At A Time PDF Author: Jacob Angeli
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 126

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Book Description
This book explains & exposes the history, strategy, & goals of "The Deep State" in detail. It also paints a very clear picture as to the goings-on at the highest levels of elected & un-elected power both in the US & abroad. This is the book that "The Deep State" wishes was never written, this is EVERYTHING "The Deep State" doesn't want you to know. Some may way I am putting my life at risk by publishing SO MANY paradigm-shattering FACTS. So I ask those people, what about all of the lives that are put at risk if I DON'T publish this book? This book's release to the public is for ALL of the children, women, & men who were abducted then forced into or brought up in the sex trafficking industry, this book is for all the people who were hurt, maimed or killed by "The Deep State". This book is for EVERY INJUSTICE & CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY perpetrated by "The Deep State." This book is designed to end "The Deep State" forever, by spreading the mind-blowing truth & ushering in a new age based on peace, abundance, prosperity and love.

The Great Illusion

The Great Illusion PDF Author: Paul Singh
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780997054101
Category : Consciousness
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"'The Great Illusion' takes a scientific look at the brain itself, presenting research that supports the naturalistic stance that the mind is identical to the brain. Singh argues that if we take seriously the idea that the mind is the brain then it follows logically that free will must be an illusion, that there can be no consciousness independent of the brain, and that there can be no substantial self that exists independently from the brain. He further argues that there can be no such thing as absolute moral responsibility"--Back cover.