The study of consciousness is recognized as one of the biggest remaining challenges to the scientific community. This book provides a fascinating introduction to the new science that promises to illuminate our understanding of the subject.

Consciousness covers all the main approaches to the modern scientific study of consciousness, and also gives the necessary historical, philosophical and conceptual background to the field. Current scientific evidence and theory from the fields of neuropsychology, cognitive neuroscience, brain imaging and the study of altered states of consciousness such as dreaming, hypnosis, meditation and out-of-body experiences is presented. Revonsuo provides an integrative review of the major existing philosophical and empirical theories of consciousness and identifies the most promising areas for future developments in the field.

This textbook offers a readable and timely introduction to the science of consciousness for anyone interested in this compelling area, especially undergraduates studying psychology, philosophy, cognition, neuroscience and related fields.

Hypnosis has recently experienced a surge of popularity in the scientific community and the general public and is currently being used to deal with a wide range of disorders. IN this elegantly written book, Dr. Peter Brown draws on the latest developments in cognitive psychology, anthropology, ethnology, and neuroscience to offer a new explanation for how hypnosis works and how it can be applied. Brown argues that the ability to hypnotized and be hypnotized is closely related to brain functions that are uniquely human-especially to our ability to communicate with others. He begins by looking at the way communication has evolved, especially our use of facial expression and the tonal aspects of speech to synchronize interactions. These features were particularly important for the transmission of culture in oral societies before the advent of writing. He next considers the changes the brain undergoes during hypnosis, proposing that hypnotherapy can be understood as the interaction between two fundamental brain functions: the rhythmic alteration in level of consciousness that the brain undergoes throughout the course of the day, and the capacity to use metaphor, imagery, and analogy to understand ourselves and the world. Brown discusses some of the clinical uses of hypnotherapy, in particular the exploration of multiple personality disorder (which can be characterized as spontaneous self-hypnosis as a means of coping with trauma) and the role of hypnosis in treating medical illness. In his final chapter he deals with how language may be used in hypnotherapy, with examples from the work of eth late Milton Erickson, one of the most influential clinicians and teacher sin contemporary hypnosis.

Like many of us, journalist David K. Randall never gave sleep much thought. That is, until he began sleepwalking. One midnight crash into a hallway wall sent him on an investigation into the strange science of sleep. In Dreamland, Randall explores the research that is investigating those dark hours that make up nearly a third of our lives. Taking readers from military battlefields to children s bedrooms, Dreamland shows that sleep isn't as simple as it seems. Why did the results of one sleep study change the bookmakers odds for certain Monday Night Football games? Do women sleep differently than men? And if you happen to kill someone while you are sleepwalking, does that count as murder? This book is a tour of the often odd, sometimes disturbing, and always fascinating things that go on in the peculiar world of sleep. You ll never look at your pillow the same way again."

Electronic dance music was once the utopian frontier of pop culture. But three decades after the acid house 'summer of love', it has gone from subculture to the global mainstream. Does it still have the same power to inspire?

From the pleasure palaces of Ibiza and Las Vegas to 'new frontiers' like Shanghai and Dubai, raving is now a multi-million-dollar business. But there are still hardcore believers upholding its DIY ethos - the techno idealists of Berlin and Detroit and the queer subcults of New York, the post-apartheid party people of South Africa and the outlaw techno travellers of France.

In Rave On, Matthew Collin travels the world to experience these unique scenes first-hand, talk to the key players and hear the story of how dance culture went global - and find out if its maverick spirit can survive its own success.

Despite the increase in meditation studies, the quality remains variable; many of them are trivial, and most remain unreplicated. Research on meditation has been plagued by insubstantial theorizing, global claims, and the substitution of belief systems for grounded hypotheses. Meditation punctures some of the myths about meditation, while retaining a place of value for mediation as a normal human function.

In each chapter includes discussion of the major questions addressed, followed by a detailed critique of important theoretical, clinical, and research issues. In several instances the reader may find that questions seem to beget questions: research bearing upon certain issues may be contradictory, or not yet of sufficient thoroughness. In these cases, the author suggests the specific future research necessary to resolve the questions posed, so that claims about meditation are justified, and which are not. The profession of psychology itself is, and has been, in a polarized debate between the "practitioners" and the "experimentalists." The latter accuse the former of being "soft, non-empirical, non-scientific," while practitioners accuse the experimentalists of conducting research which is essentially irrelevant to human concerns.

This approach provides a bridge between research and clinical practice. Meditation provides an encompassing survey of the topic--nearly forty tables and figures; sample questionnaires, evaluations and programs and a detailed overview of a controversial field. Shapiro separates self-regulation with self-delusion, to outline questions and possible answers.

Near death experiences fascinate everyone, from theologians to sociologists and neuroscientists. This groundbreaking book introduces the phenomenon of NDEs, their personal impact and the dominant scientific explanations. Taking a strikingly original cross-cultural approach and incorporating new medical research, it combines new theories of mind and body with contemporary research into how the brain functions. Ornella Corazza analyses dualist models of mind and body, discussing the main features of NDEs as reported by many people who have experienced them. She studies the use of ketamine to reveal how characteristics of NDEs can be chemically induced without being close to death. This evidence challenges the conventional 'survivalist hypothesis', according to which the near death experience is a proof of the existence of an afterlife. This remarkable book concludes that we need to move towards a more integrated view of embodiment, in order to understand what human life is and also what it can be. Ornella Corazza is a NDE researcher at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. In 2004-5 she was a Member of the 21st Century Centre of Excellence (COE) 'Program on the Construction of Death and Life Studies' at the University of Tokyo.

Recent clinical trials show that psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin can be given safely in controlled conditions, and can cause lasting psychological benefits with one or two administrations. Supervised psychedelic sessions can reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and addiction, and improve well-being in healthy volunteers, for months or even years. But these benefits seem to be mediated by "mystical" experiences of cosmic consciousness, which prompts a philosophical concern: do psychedelics cause psychological benefits by inducing false or implausible beliefs about the metaphysical nature of reality? This book is the first scholarly monograph in English devoted to the philosophical analysis of psychedelic drugs. Its central focus is the apparent conflict between the growing use of psychedelics in psychiatry and the philosophical worldview of naturalism. Within the book, Letheby integrates empirical evidence and philosophical considerations in the service of a simple conclusion: this "Comforting Delusion Objection" to psychedelic therapy fails. While exotic metaphysical ideas do sometimes come up, they are not, on closer inspection, the central driver of change in psychedelic therapy. Psychedelics lead to lasting benefits by altering the sense of self, and changing how people relate to their own minds and lives-not by changing their beliefs about the ultimate nature of reality. The upshot is that a traditional conception of psychedelics as agents of insight and spirituality can be reconciled with naturalism (the philosophical position that the natural world is all there is). Controlled psychedelic use can lead to genuine forms of knowledge gain and spiritual growth-even if no Cosmic Consciousness or transcendent divine Reality exists. Philosophy of Psychedelics is an indispensable guide to the literature for researchers already engaged in the field of psychedelic psychiatry, and for researchers-especially philosophers-who want to become acquainted with this increasingly topical field.

The phenomenon of consciousness has always been a central question for philosophers and scientists. Emerging in the past decade are new approaches to the understanding of consciousness in a scientific light. This book presents a series of essays by leading thinkers giving an account of the current ideas prevalent in the scientific study of consciousness. The value of the book lies in the discussion of this interesting though complex subject from different points of view ranging from physics and computer science to the cognitive sciences. Reviews of controversial ideas related to the philosophy of mind from western and eastern sources including classical Indian first person methodologies provide a breadth of coverage that has seldom been attempted in a book before. Additionally, chapters relating to the new approaches in computational modeling of higher order cognitive function and consciousness are included. The book is of great value for established as well as young researchers from a wide cross-section of interdisciplinary scientific backgrounds, aiming to pursue research in this field, as well as an informed public.
* Presents the latest developments in the scientific study of consciousness
* Critically reviews different theoretical and philosophical explanations related to the subject
* An important book for both students and researchers in designing research projects on consciousness

The practice of yoga, hypnosis, and the use of psychedelic drugs to alter psychological and physiological states is not unknown to the study of psychology. They have been called "soft" studies and labeled unimportant. This is mostly because they are difficult to study and understand, often focusing on unobservable internal states such as altered states of consciousness, Samadhi, or hypnotic states. This book, in its approach to thinking about this topic and method for analysis, focuses only on phenomena that can be observed, such as behavioral changes.

By centering on only those aspects of the psychological and physiological effects of yoga, hypnosis, and psychedelic drugs which can be measured and analyzed using this new method, Barber distinguishes this book from others in the field. He asks what overt behaviors and verbal reports are clearly observable when psychedelic drugs are taken, yoga is practiced, or hypnotic-induction procedures are administered. Instead of treating the phenomena traditionally associated with psychedelic drugs, yoga, or hypnosis as undifferentiated conglomerates, an attempt will be made to set apart and treat separately each of the many phenomena associated with each of these areas of inquiry.

This book does not set out to simply demonstrate the importance of psychedelics, yoga, and hypnosis, or to present substantive material pertaining to these topics. It also treats each topic as continuous with other known psychological phenomena and as an important piece to the puzzle of social psychology. It differs from most previous treatises in that it does not assume that psychedelics, yoga, and hypnosis can bring out unused mental or physical capacities in man, heighten awareness or give rise to enhanced creativity, or produce altered states of consciousness, suspension of conventional reality-orientation, changes in body-image, or changes in perception.

Provides clarification of Jung's method of dream analysis. Based upon a previously unpublished series of dreams of one of Jung's patients.

Although research and practice in hypnosis has seen unprecedented expansion, there has been a definite lack of inclusive and comprehensive surveys to aid the student and researcher. This collection of original chapters written by leading experimental investigators is the first work to offer a current state-of-the-art in hypnosis research. A compendium of the historical background, theories, issues, and trends in hypnosis, this volume represents all major experimental viewpoints while providing a virtual "who's who" in the field of hypnosis.
The first two chapters (written by the editors) establish the current theoretical base of the field and review the historical background. Seventeen contributions focus directly on key aspects of present day hypnosis research. These contributions are organized as surveys of broad topic areas, descriptions in depth of individual investigator's programmatic lines of research, and reports on research within specific areas, especially those representing new viewpoints and holding promise for programmatic development. A final chapter develops questions for future research.
Offering an inclusive survey of the field from its historical inceptions to its current and predictive state, this book presents many new ideas while updating established positions in research and theory. The vital areas covered in connection with hypnosis include: psychophysiology, creativity, dreams, imagination, suggestibility, simulator controls, cognitive activity, and ego-psychological theory. In addition there are chapters on hypnosis as a research method, the measurement of altered states of consciousness, and hypnotic programming techniques in psychological experiments. "Hypnosis: Research Developments and Perspectives" is written for researchers in hypnosis and clinical practitioners in medicine and psychology. The book will serve as a basic text in all courses in hypnosis at the graduate level.
, One man alone cannot construct an entire profession, but David Shakow is one of the architects responsible for shaping clinical psychology into the profession it is today. Reflecting the ideas of a man whose name is synonymous with the field, this volume brings together for the first time his most significant papers in this area and presents a comprehensive, far-reaching overview of clinical psychology addressed to all of its professionals and students.
Dr. Shakow's forty years of influence as a clinician, training program administrator, professor, researcher, and public servant are profoundly reflected in these papers. They offer insight into the work and world of the clinician, the nature of training programs, the history and development of the profession, and the relationship between clinical psychology and other disciplines. Not simply a descriptive record of one man's achievements, the thinking mirrored in this volume is pertinent, even crucial, to the future development of the field.
The author's persistent and continuing concern for top quality in training and practice pervades these essays, making them a unified chronicle of the professional growth of clinical psychology and of a master professional's ideas and involvements with the problems and issues in his field. No clinician or student can fully understand the nature of the field, how it came to be, and where it is going, without reading this volume.
"David Shakow" (1901-1981) was Senior Research Psychologist at the National Institute of Mental Health. He was Chief Psychologist and Director of Psychological Research at the Worcester State Hospital for eighteen years. He has taught at the University of Illinois College of Medicine and at the University of Chicago, He was also Chief Psychologist at the Illinois Neuropsychiatric Institute and a past president of the Division of Clinical Psychology of the American Psychological Association as well as chairman of the Association's Committee on Training in Clinical Psychology.
"Erika Fromm" (1909-2003) was Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of Chicago; she was President of the American Board of Psychological Hypnosis, and the Clinical Editor of the "International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis" and associate editor of "The Bulletin of the British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis." She was also past president of The American Psychological Association psychological hypnosis division, Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, and American Board of Psychological Hypnosis. Ronald E. Shor is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of New Hampshire and Vice-Chairman of the Education and Research Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis.

Our dreams fascinate us as individuals and as a society. What do surveys report people dream about? How about the dreams of the blind? The mentally ill? What does research show about the possibility of dream telepathy? How did the ancient people view dreams? This wide-ranging book also discusses such topics as REM studies, the effects of experimental stimulation on dream content, research on dreams and creativity, symbolism, and nightmares. The book explores a number of techniques used to analyze dreams, illustrating these approaches with dream examples and case studies.

No matter how you birth your baby, feel calm and safe with hypnobirthing "This woman is a great healer and birth expert. This book will be brilliant." Russell Brand Your Baby, Your Birth is a truly modern hypnobirthing book for ALL births. In-demand hypnobirthing coach Hollie de Cruz provides you with the skills and tools to make any birth feel safe, calm, connected and empowering. Drawing on her experience working with new mums, including Fearne Cotton and Giovanna Fletcher, Hollie de Cruz helps you prepare for a positive (not 'perfect') birth experience and approach motherhood with confidence in yourself and your instincts. Your Baby, Your Birth will teach you: - That birth is safe - listen to your body, embrace the changes, prepare your mind and relax during pregnancy - Exercises and breathing techniques for labour and birth for you and your birth partner, along with guided meditations to keep you calm and engaged - How to trust your instincts, understand your body and baby, and make informed decisions throughout your pregnancy and beyond Hollie de Cruz, creator of the award-winning yesmum positive affirmation cards, is renowned for demystifying hypnobirthing and her down-to-earth, realistic approach is highly sought after. Whatever kind of birth you are planning, let Hollie de Cruz provide you with a set of deep relaxation, mindfulness and meditation tools for an empowering experience.

Two premier hypnotherapists collaborate on a new edition of this award-winning text, a collection of techniques and information about hypnosis that no serious student or practitioner should be without. A thorough and practical handbook of various hypnotherapeutic measures, it contains illustrative examples and logically argued selection methods to help practitioners choose the ideal method for a needed purpose. Section by section, it breaks out the various methods and phenomena of hypnosis into easily digested chunks, so the reader can pick and choose at leisure. An excellent practical guide and reference that is sure to be used regularly. The authors have a wide and longstanding experience on the subject and thus can stay on clinically approvable methods.

Some experiences of the natural world bring a sense of unity, knowledge, self-transcendence, eternity, light, and love. This is the first detailed study of these intriguing phenomena. Paul Marshall explores the circumstances, characteristics, and after-effects of this important but relatively neglected type of mystical experience, and critiques explanations that range from the spiritual and metaphysical to the psychoanalytic, contextual, and neuropsychological. The theorists discussed include R. M. Bucke, Edward Carpenter, W. R. Inge, Evelyn Underhill, Rudolf Otto, Sigmund Freud, Aldous Huxley, R. C. Zaehner, W. T. Stace, Steven Katz, and Robert Forman, as well as contemporary neuroscientists. The book makes a significant contribution to current debates about the nature of mystical experience.

This book presents an intricate, interdisciplinary evaluation of loneliness that examines the relation of consciousness to loneliness. It views loneliness from the inside as a universal human condition rather than attempting to explain it away as an aberration, a mental disorder, or a temporary state to be addressed by superficial therapy and psychiatric medication. Loneliness is much more than just feeling sad or isolated. It is the ultimate ground source of unhappiness-the underlying reality of all negative human behavior that manifests as anxiety, depression, envy, guilt, hostility, or shame. It underlies aggression, domestic violence, murder, PTSD, suicide, and other serious issues. This book explains why the drive to avoid loneliness and secure intimacy is the most powerful psychological need in all human beings; documents how human beings gravitate between two motivational poles: loneliness and intimacy; and advocates for an understanding of loneliness through the principles of idealism, rationalism, and insight. Readers will understand the underlying theory of consciousness that explains why people are lonely, thereby becoming better equipped to recognize sources of loneliness in themselves as well as others. Written by a licensed social worker and former mental health therapist, the book documents why whenever individuals or groups feel lonely, alienated, estranged, disenfranchised, or rejected, they will either withdraw within and shut down, or they will attack others with little thought of consequence to either themselves or others. Perhaps most importantly, the work identifies the antidotes to loneliness as achieving a sense of belonging, togetherness, and intimacy through empathic emotional attachments, which come from a mutual sharing of "lived experiences" such as feelings, meanings, and values; constant positive communication; and equal decision making. Provides key insight into the dynamics of loneliness, enabling readers to be able to recognize its sources and counter its insidious and invidious force-not only in one's self, but in others as well Presents cross-disciplinary perspectives that addresses and critiques both philosophical and psychological views on loneliness Reviews the works and words of philosophers from Descartes to Kant and Wittgenstein, and of psychologists from Freud to Erikson, Fromm, and Mahler Authored by a former mental health therapist who has taught philosophy for more than 30 years

Avery explores the psychology of altered states among the early Sufis. It examines sama - listening to ritual recitation, music and certain other aural phenomena - and its effect in inducing unusual states of consciousness and behaviours. The focus is on the earliest personalities of the Islamic mystical tradition, as mediated by texts from the tenth to the twelfth centuries C.E. These unusual states are interpreted in the light of current research in Western psychology, and also in terms of their integration into historical Islamic culture. A Psychology of Early Sufi Sama provides new insights into the work of five Sufi authors, and a fresh approach to the relation between historical accounts of altered states and current psychological thinking.

It is commonly known that some individuals are more easily hypnotized than others. What is less clear is why, and what can be learnt from these individual differences for hypnosis as a whole. The Highly Hypnotizable Person is the first book to present an up-to-date, comprehensive overview of what research and evidence there is for the existence and features of highly hypnotisable people.
The Highly Hypnotizable Person draws on research findings from cognitive, developmental and clinical psychology and from neuropsychology and neurophysiology. Leading authorities on hypnosis provide a comprehensive account of what is known and understood about this phenomenon and treatment procedure, and in particular, the nature and implications of high susceptibility.

Originally published in 1979, this is a dream book with an outstanding difference: it takes the interpretation of dreams out of the realm of the professionals and gives it to the ultimate expert - the dreamer. Working with Dreams stresses the uniqueness of every dream and dreamer. With anecdotes and examples from their own dream groups, the authors show how to deal with the intimacy and honesty of a dream; how to explore its meanings without distorting them; how to let a dream tell us about ourselves and add to our understanding. Dr Ullman and Mrs Zimmerman start with the question of what is in a dream - what is real and what is symbolic? - and then go on to explain what happens during sleep and the way a dream develops. They cover remembering and recording dreams and dealing with the imagery of dreams. They illustrate the many predicaments that dreams depict, the self-deceptions we practice in relation to our dreams, and then show how dream groups - whether a family or a group of strangers - can work together to uncover the meaning of dreams. And they enrich their book by discussing everything from the history of dreams to the possibilities of dreams across space and time. The result is a storehouse of information about the world of dreams.

What is a dream?
Dreams are universal, but their perceived significance and conceptual framework change over time. This book provides new perspectives on the history of dreams and dream interpretation in western culture and thought.
Dreams and History contains important new scholarship on Freud's Interpretation of Dreams (1900) and subsequent psychoanalytical approaches from distinguished historians, psychoanalysts, historians of science and anthropologists. This collection celebrates and evaluates Freud's landmark intellectual production, whilst placing it in historical context. A modern view of psychoanalysis, it also discusses the controversial idea of the role of the external world on the shaping of unconscious mental contents.
In highly accessible language it proceeds through a series of richly illustrated case studies, providing new source materials and debates about the causes, meanings and consequences of dreams, past and present: from Victorian anthropological exploration of ancient Greek dream sources to peasant interpretation of dream-life in communist Russia; from concepts of the dream in sixteenth-century England to visual images in nineteenth-century symbolist painting in France.
Dreams and History will fascinate those interested not only in psychoanalysis and history, but also arts, culture, humanities and literature.

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This book presents a simple, effective and illuminating way of understanding and working with dreams in clinical practice. It describes the mechanisms through which the mind/brain processes our experience and forms symbols, which embody a rich network of associations. It demonstrates how the dream and this network of associations can apply on a num

Sleepily Ever After: Bedtime Stories for Grown Ups is a gorgeous little anthology of upbeat, touching, funny and inspiring stories that will help you relax and drift off to sleep. Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is edited and introduced by Zachary Seager. It's hard to relax, to keep still and to stop our brains from whirring. We live in a world where lack of sleep is a common problem for many adults. This collection of stories will help to banish anxiety and to soothe stressed minds as they welcome you into a world of happy endings, gentle humour and good choices. Each classic story from authors including Oscar Wilde, Kate Chopin, Guy de Maupassant and H G Wells, has been carefully chosen for the quality of its writing, for great storytelling and to gently help you into the land of nod.

A gripping investigation that opens fresh perspectives on biology and anthropology 'At the cutting edge of contemporary thought' GUARDIAN 'A thoroughly enjoyable read' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH While living among Peruvian Indians, anthropologist Jeremy Narby became intrigued by their claim that their phenomenal knowledge of plants and biochemistry was communicated to them directly while under the influence of hallucinogens. Despite his initial scepticism, Narby found himself engaged in an increasingly obsessive personal quest. The evidence he collected - on subjects as diverse as molecular biology, shamanism, neurology and ancient mythology - led inexorably to the conclusion that the Indians' claims were literally true: to a consciousness prepared with drugs, specific biochemical knowledge could indeed be directly transmitted through DNA itself. A gripping investigation that opens fresh perspectives on biology, anthropology and the limits of rationalism, The Cosmic Serpent is new science of the most exhilarating kind.

Contents:
Introduction. Dream-in-the-World. The Dream Sequence. Religious Experience and the Psyche. Religious Experience and the Body. A Quantum Stance. A New Story of Our Place in the Cosmos. Part I: Theoretical Approaches to Mystical Experience. The Body as Locus for Religious Experience: Mairi and Hadewijch. A Capacity for Religious Experience: Quantum Mind and the Psycho-Spiritual Senses. Quantum Mind. Dreams as Portals to the Quantum Mind. Psycho-Spiritual Senses. Fully Human Consciousness: Paradox and the Capacity to Participate. Jung's Religious Terminology: Self (and Spirit), Soul (and Psyche). Self and Individuation. Soul and Spirit. Self-Directive Dreams. Part II: The Dreamer and Her Dreams. Dreams with Commentary. 1 - Red Circus Tent. 2 - Flaming Angel. 3 - Snowy Mountains, Two Children. 4 - Ordeal by Spiders. 5 - Two-ness Beneath the Ocean. 6 - Artichoke Dream. 7 - Lightning Strike. 8 - Silver Fish Kiss. Waking Vision. 9 - Burning Stone. 10 - Three Angels. 11 - One the Beach, Naked Woman, Fiery Skin. 12 - Four Colors. 13 - Buddha With a Globe. 14 - Statue of a Woman. 15 - Swami B. is Dancing. 16 - Rose Dream. 17 - Bird With Jeweled Wings. 18 - White Elephant on a White Sea. 19 - Self-Birth. 20 - The Lunar Tree. 21 - The Solar Tree. 22 - Hands Holding the Earth. 23 - Cowlick and Re-entry. Part III: "Falling Through:" Experience of Soul. Psychological Commentary. Self-Directive Dreams and Initiation. Personification, Personalisation and "Indwelling". Winnicott's Personalisation and Indwelling. Beyond Personalisation to Personhood. Reflections on Psyche and Soul. Limitations of Winnicott's View of Religion As "Necessary Illusion". Part IV: Hadewijch's Paradox. Hadewijch and the Beguines. Literary Contributions. Beguine Spirituality. Mysticism and the Body. Hadewijch and the Feminine. Soul and Self-Transformation . Part V: Summary and Conclusions. Individuation and the Religious Instinct. Centrality of the Soul in Religious Experience. Anima Mundi. Loss and Recovery of a World View. Bibliography.