This work, published in 1901, is the culmination of a lifetime of research and contemplation in which Richard Maurice Bucke (1837-1902) expounds his theory of the development and evolution of consciousness in living things. He uses his own experiences, those of contemporaries such as Tennyson, and of historical figures such as Francis Bacon, as evidence for moments of higher consciousness and intellect known as 'cosmic consciousness'. Bucke's theory is of three states of progressive consciousness, attained through evolution. The Simple Consciousness of animals, Self Consciousness of man to understand his place in the universe, and Cosmic Consciousness, where man might grow to understand the life and order of the cosmos. This pinnacle of understanding is a progression assisted by evolution that Bucke hopes will one day come to all men. A thought-provoking book at any time, full of optimism for the intellectual future of the human race.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809--1849) has long occupied the position of literary outsider. Dismissed as unrepresentative of the main currents of antebellum culture, Poe commented incisively -- in fiction and nonfiction -- on nationalism, science, materialism, popular taste, and cultural ideology. Opposing the pressure to write nationalistic "American" tales or from a restricted New England perspective, he produced a body of work held in greater international esteem than that of any of his U.S. contemporaries.

In Poe and the Remapping of Antebellum Print Culture, scholars explore Poe's anti-nationalistic Americanism as they redefine the outlines of antebellum print culture and challenge ideas that situate Poe at the margins of national thought and cultural activity.

The contributors offer fresh perspectives on an often-maligned author, including essays on Poe's preoccupation with celebrity, his fascination with metropolitan crime and mystery, his impact as an observer of racial fear, his role as an eccentric cultural icon, and his fluctuating reputation in our own era. They also argue for new digital approaches that facilitate remapping of print culture.

Contributors: Anna Brickhouse, Betsy Erkkila, Jennifer Rae Greeson, Leon Jackson, J. Gerald Kennedy, Maurice S. Lee, Jerome McGann, Scott Peeples, Leland S. Person, and Eliza Richards

Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind is Richard Bucke's theory that our mental states are evolving and that to date we have experienced three stages in the development of consciousness: the 'simple consciousness' of animals, the 'self-consciousness' of the vast majority of humans (reason, self awareness, imagination, etc.), and in some cases 'cosmic consciousness'; a mystical state of being beyond 'self consciousness' and the next stage of human development. Bucke hypothesized that 'cosmic consciousness' is slowly beginning to appear in humans and will eventually spread widely throughout the human race. He posited that certain notable individuals throughout history have demonstrated that they have attained 'cosmic consciousness'. In the book he cites examples such as Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Dante, St Paul, Francis Bacon, William Blake, and his close friend Walt Whitman. Whitman, an American poet and journalist described cosmic consciousness as 'ineffable light, light rare, untellable, light beyond all signs, descriptions and languages.' At the age of thirty-five Bucke found himself in this elevated mental state and he describes (in the third person) the manifestations leading up to it; '1. The person, suddenly, without warning, has a sense of being immersed in a flame, or rose-colored cloud, or perhaps rather a sense that the mind is itself filled with such a cloud of haze. 2. At the same instant he is, as it were, bathed in an emotion of joy, assurance, triumph, salvation. 3. Simultaneously or instantly following the above sense and emotional experiences there comes to the person an intellectual illumination quite impossible to describe. Like a flash there is presented to his consciousness a clear conception (a vision) in outline of the meaning and drift of the universe. He does not come to believe merely; but he sees and knows that the cosmos, which to the self conscious mind seems made up of dead matter, is in fact far otherwise-is in very truth a living presence. He sees that instead of men being, as it were, patches of life scattered through an infinite sea of non-living substance, they are in reality specks of relative death in an infinite ocean of life. He sees that the life which is in man is eternal, as all life is eternal; that the soul of man is as immortal as God is; that the universe is so built and ordered that without any peradventure all things work together for the good of each and all; that the foundation principle of the world is what we call love, and that the happiness of every individual is in the long run absolutely certain.' He goes on to say, 'The person who passes through this experience will learn in the few minutes, or even moments, of its continuance more than in months or years of study, and he will learn much that no study ever taught or can teach.' After reading Bucke's writings, P. D. Ouspensky, the respected Russian Philosopher echoed his comments in his book Tertium Organum; 'Cosmic Consciousness is a third form, which is as far above Self Consciousness as is that above Simple Consciousness. The prime characteristic Cosmic Consciousness is, as its name implies, a consciousness of the cosmos, that is, of the life and order of the universe. Along with the consciousness of the cosmos there occurs an intellectual enlightenment or illumination which alone would place the individual on a new plane of existence-would make him almost a member of a new species.'

2010 Reprint of 1905 edition.This work is the magnum opus of Bucke's career, a project that he researched and wrote over many years. In it, Bucke described his own experience, that of contemporaries (most notably Whitman, but also unknown figures like "C.P."), and the experiences and outlook of historical figures including Buddha, Jesus, Paul, Plotinus, Muhammad, Dante, Francis Bacon, and William Blake. Bucke developed a theory involving three stages in the development of consciousness: the simple consciousness of animals; the self-consciousness of the mass of humanity (encompassing reason, imagination, etc.); and cosmic consciousness - an emerging faculty and the next stage of human development. Among the effects of this progression, he believed he detected a lengthy historical trend in which religious conceptions and theologies had become less and less fearful. A classic work.