Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation, and PhilosophyA renowned philosopher of the mind, also known for his groundbreaking work on Buddhism and cognitive science, Evan Thompson combines the latest neuroscience research on sleep, dreaming, and meditation with Indian and Western philosophy of the mind, casting new light on the self and its relation to the brain. Thompson shows how the self is a changing process, not a static thing. When we are awake we identify with our body, but if we let our mind wander or daydream, we project a mentally imagined self into the remembered past or anticipated future. As we fall asleep, the impression of being a bounded self distinct from the world dissolves, but the self reappears in the dream state. If we have a lucid dream, we no longer identify only with the self within the dream. Our sense of self now includes our dreaming self, the ÒIÓ as dreamer. Finally, as we meditateÑeither in the waking state or in a lucid dreamÑwe can observe whatever images or thoughts arise and how we tend to identify with them as Òme.Ó We can also experience sheer awareness itself, distinct from the changing contents that make up our image of the self. Contemplative traditions say that we can learn to let go of the self, so that when we die we can witness the dissolution of the self with equanimity. Thompson weaves together neuroscience, philosophy, and personal narrative to depict these transformations, adding uncommon depth to lifeÕs profound questions. Contemplative experience comes to illuminate scientific findings, and scientific evidence enriches the vast knowledge acquired by contemplatives. |
Contents
What Is Consciousness? | 1 |
How Do We Perceive?
| 21 |
What Is Pure Awareness?
| 67 |
Who Am I?
| 107 |
Is This a Dream? | 139 |
Are We Real?
| 167 |
Where Am I? | 203 |
Are We Conscious in Deep Sleep?
| 231 |
What Happens When We Die?
| 273 |
Is the Self an Illusion?
| 319 |
Notes
| 367 |
409 | |
433 | |
Other editions - View all
Waking, Dreaming, Being: Self and Consciousness in Neuroscience, Meditation ... Evan Thompson No preview available - 2017 |
Common terms and phrases
Abhidharma Advaita Vedānta arising attention awake awakening binocular rivalry body brain activity called cardiac arrest cell chapter clear light cognitive science conception consciousness contemplative cortex Dalai Lama death deep and dreamless deep sleep depends describe dream ego dream world dream yoga dreamless sleep dying ence experienced experiential eyes fall asleep false awakening feeling first-person focused Francisco Varela functions gamma Ganeri happens hypnagogic I-Me-Mine imagery images imagination Indian kind LaBerge lucid dreaming meditation practice memory mental mind near-death experience ness neural correlates neurons neuroscience neuroscientists nonlucid object one’s out-of-body experiences perception perspective phenomena phenomenology philosophers physical present pure awareness question reality REM sleep remember scientific scientists sciousness seems self-specifying sense sensory slow-wave sleep Stephen LaBerge subtle target there’s things thought Tibetan Buddhist tion tive University Press Varela Vipassanā visual waking and dreaming what’s Yoga and Vedānta Yogācāra York