Roger Christan Schriner

Your Living Mind: the Mystery of Consciousness and Why It Matters to You Roger Christan Schriner Edition One edition

An Adventure of the Mind ? An Exploration of the Senses

Many people believe that consciousness occurs within the brain, but could this really be true? For decades, scientists and philosophers have been struggling with deep puzzles about mind and body, puzzles that make it very hard to understand how conscious experiences could occur inside of our heads. This book opens a window into the intriguing story of this hidden conversation.

If you liked Consciousness Explained by Daniel Dennett or Soul Dust by Nicholas Humphrey, or you have enjoyed readable books and articles about neuroscience, you?ll enjoy Your Living Mind. It?s a multifaceted meditation on ?being a brain,? and an invigorating workout for both your intellect and your imagination.

This book was written for several kinds of readers. Do any of these statements fit for you?

* You want to develop a well-crafted personal philosophy of life. Understanding consciousness is part of that quest.

* You want to learn about yourself, to know who and what you are.

* You have been interested in the ?big questions? of philosophy and psychology, and you?d like to revisit this sort of reflection.

* You have already studied consciousness, and you enjoy playing with new ideas about ?philosophical zombies? and other enigmas.

Your Living Mind confronts the most bewildering puzzles in philosophy of mind. You will find out how dedicated scholars have struggled with these riddles, apparently without success. This book?s unique format enables you to read some sections casually and delve into others more deeply. When you come to an especially interesting topic, you can read the detailed footnotes and the clearly-marked technical sections. With lower-priority topics you can skim or skip these optional materials.

Your Living Mind explains subtle ideas in clear and straightforward language, minimizing technical jargon. Issues are clarified with illustrations, diagrams, and specific examples. Drawing upon his background as a psychotherapist, the author has included a dozen exercises and techniques for personal reflection. For those who practice these techniques, Your Living Mind will become both an intellectual adventure and an exploration of the senses.

Are you ready to become better acquainted with your living mind?

THE AUTHOR, Dr. Roger C. Schriner is a psychotherapist and Unitarian Universalist minister who has studied consciousness for over 20 years. Your Living Mind is his sixth book. His previous publications include Do Think Twice: Provocative Reflections on Age-Old Questions; Bridging the God Gap: Finding Common Ground Among Believers, Atheists and Agnostics; and Feel Better Now (available from personhoodpress.com).

CONTENTS: The Introduction and first chapter map out the key issues this book will investigate. Chapter Two discusses intriguing new discoveries about the brain. Chapter Three considers the way our minds interweave conscious and unconscious processes. Chapters Four and Five explain why the mind-body problem is so challenging, and the next three chapters discuss valiant attempts to solve this mystery. Dr. Schriner presents his own proposal in Chapters Nine through Fourteen, and relates this theory to our understanding of selfhood and personal freedom in Fifteen and Sixteen. Chapter Seventeen suggests additional implications, and concludes.