Exploring the Illusion of Free Will and Moral Responsibility investigates the philosophical and scientific arguments for free will skepticism and their implications. Skepticism about free will and moral responsibility has been on the rise in recent years. In fact, a significant number of philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists now either doubt or outright deny the existence of free will and/or moral responsibility-and the list of prominent skeptics appears to grow by the day. Given the profound importance that the concepts of free will and moral responsibility hold in our lives-in understanding ourselves, society, and the law-it is important that we explore what is behind this new wave of skepticism. It is also important that we explore the potential consequences of skepticism for ourselves and society. Edited by Gregg D. Caruso, this collection of new essays brings together an internationally recognized line-up of contributors, most of whom hold skeptical positions of some sort, to display and explore the leading arguments for free will skepticism and to debate their implications.

Now in its fourth edition, this highly popular text is the definitive introduction to consciousness, exploring the key theories and evidence in consciousness studies ranging from neuroscience and psychology to quantum theories and philosophy. Written by mother and daughter author team Susan Blackmore and Emily Troscianko, the book examines why the term ‘consciousness’ has no recognised definition. It also provides an opportunity to delve into personal intuitions about the self, mind, and consciousness. Featuring comprehensive coverage of all core topics in the field, the book explains why the problem of consciousness is so hard. Theories of attention and free will, altered states of consciousness, and the differences between conscious and unconscious are all explored. Written with students of psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy in mind, this edition has been thoroughly updated throughout, and includes expanded coverage of panpsychism, illusionism, predictive processing, adversarial collaboration, psychedelics, and AI. Complete with key concept boxes, profiles of well-known thinkers, and questions and activities designed for both independent study and group work, Consciousness provides a complete introduction to this fascinating field, and is essential reading for students of psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience.

Now in its fourth edition, this highly popular text is the definitive introduction to consciousness, exploring the key theories and evidence in consciousness studies ranging from neuroscience and psychology to quantum theories and philosophy. Written by mother and daughter author team Susan Blackmore and Emily Troscianko, the book examines why the term ‘consciousness’ has no recognised definition. It also provides an opportunity to delve into personal intuitions about the self, mind, and consciousness. Featuring comprehensive coverage of all core topics in the field, the book explains why the problem of consciousness is so hard. Theories of attention and free will, altered states of consciousness, and the differences between conscious and unconscious are all explored. Written with students of psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy in mind, this edition has been thoroughly updated throughout, and includes expanded coverage of panpsychism, illusionism, predictive processing, adversarial collaboration, psychedelics, and AI. Complete with key concept boxes, profiles of well-known thinkers, and questions and activities designed for both independent study and group work, Consciousness provides a complete introduction to this fascinating field, and is essential reading for students of psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience.

This academic text features articles regarding paranormal, extraordinary, or fringe-science claims. It logically examines the claims of astrology; psychic ability; alternative medicine and health claims; after-death communication; cryptozoology; and faith healing, all from a skeptical perspective. Paranormal Claims is a compilation of some of the most eye-opening articles about pseudoscience and extraordinary claims that often reveal logical, scientific explanations, or an outright scam. These articles, steeped in skepticism, teach critical thinking when approaching courses in psychology, sociology, philosophy, education, or science.

Exploring the Illusion of Free Will and Moral Responsibility investigates the philosophical and scientific arguments for free will skepticism and their implications. Skepticism about free will and moral responsibility has been on the rise in recent years. In fact, a significant number of philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists now either doubt or outright deny the existence of free will and/or moral responsibility-and the list of prominent skeptics appears to grow by the day. Given the profound importance that the concepts of free will and moral responsibility hold in our lives-in understanding ourselves, society, and the law-it is important that we explore what is behind this new wave of skepticism. It is also important that we explore the potential consequences of skepticism for ourselves and society. Edited by Gregg D. Caruso, this collection of new essays brings together an internationally recognized line-up of contributors, most of whom hold skeptical positions of some sort, to display and explore the leading arguments for free will skepticism and to debate their implications.

Consciousness, 'the last great mystery for science', remains a hot topic. How can a physical brain create our experience of the world? What creates our identity? Do we really have free will? Could consciousness itself be an illusion? Exciting new developments in brain science are continuing the debates on these issues, and the field has now expanded to include biologists, neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers. This controversial book clarifies the potentially confusing arguments, and the major theories, whilst also outlining the amazing pace of discoveries in neuroscience. Covering areas such as the construction of self in the brain, mechanisms of attention, the neural correlates of consciousness, and the physiology of altered states of consciousness, Susan Blackmore highlights our latest findings. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Conversations on Consciousness is just that - a series of twenty lively and challenging conversations between Sue Blackmore and some of the world's leading philosophers and scientists. Written in a colloquial and engaging style, the book records the conversations Sue had when she met these influential thinkers, whether at conferences in Arizona or Antwerp, or in their labs or homes in Oxford or San Diego. The conversations bring out their very different personalities and styles and reveal a wealth of fascinating detail about their theories and beliefs. Why is consciousness such a special and difficult issue for twenty-first century science? Sue, herself a researcher into this controversial and difficult topic, begins by asking each of her colleagues this simple question and is immediately plunged into the depths of the debate: how do the subjective experiences we call consciousness arise from the physical brain? Is this even the right question to ask? Can zombies - people who behave outwardly just like others but have no inner mental life - exist? What can dreams tell us about consciousness? Should we all be learning to meditate?Do we have free will, and if not is it possible to live without it? With an introduction setting out the broad structure of the debate on consciousness, and an extensive glossary, this book provides an engaging and accessible account of the most challenging problem of all, through the words of some of the leading figures involved in seeking to solve it.

Humans are extraordinary creatures, with the unique ability among animals to imitate and so copy from one another ideas, habits, skills, behaviours, inventions, songs, and stories. These are all memes, a term first coined by Richard Dawkins in 1976 in his book The Selfish Gene. Memes, like genes, are replicators, and this enthralling book is an investigation of whether this link between genes and memes can lead to important discoveries about the nature of the inner self. Susan Blackmore makes a compelling case for the theory that the inner self is merely an illusion created by the memes for the sake of replication.

Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand their own mind and to find a spiritual path that is compatible with science As an impressionable young student, Susan Blackmore had an intense, dramatic and life-changing experience, seeming to leave her body and travel the world. With no rational explanation for her out-of-body experience (OBE) she turned to astral projection and the paranormal, but soon despaired of finding answers. Decades later, a Swiss neurosurgeon accidentally discovered the spot in the brain that can induce OBEs and everything changed; this crucial spot is part of the brain's self-system and when disturbed so is our experience of self. Blackmore leaped back into OBE research and at last began to unravel what had happened to her. Seeing Myself describes her long quest for answers through spirituality, religion, drugs, meditation, philosophy and neuroscience. Anyone can have an OBE, indeed 15 per cent of us have. Even more have experienced sleep paralysis, lucid dreaming and the creepy sense of an invisible presence. At last, with the advent of brain stimulation, fMRI scanning and virtual reality, all these phenomena are beginning to make sense. Long relegated to the very fringes of research, the new science of out-of-body experiences is now contributing to our understanding of consciousness and our very selves.

In Conversations on Consciousness, Susan Blackmore interviews some of the great minds of our time, a who's who of eminent thinkers, all of whom have devoted much of their lives to understanding the concept of consciousness. The interviewees, ranging from major philosophers to renowned scientists, talk candidly with Blackmore about some of the key philosophical issues confronting us in a series of conversations that are revealing, insightful, and stimulating. They ruminate on the nature of consciousness (is it something apart from the brain?) and discuss if it is even possible to understand the human mind. Some of these thinkers say no, but most believe that we will pierce the mystery surrounding consciousness, and that neuroscience will provide the key. Blackmore goes beyond the issue of consciousness to ask other intriguing questions: Is there free will? (A question which yields many conflicted replies, with most saying yes and no.) If not, how does this effect the way you live your life; and more broadly, how has your work changed the way you live?
Paired with an introduction and extensive glossary that provide helpful background information, these provocative conversations illuminate how some of the greatest minds tackle some of the most difficult questions about human nature.

Now in a new edition, this innovative text is the first volume to bring together all the major theories of consciousness studies--from those rooted in traditional Western philosophy to those coming out of neuroscience, quantum theory, and Eastern philosophy. Broadly interdisciplinary, Consciousness: An Introduction, Second Edition, is divided into nine sections that examine such topics as how subjective experiences arise from objective brain processes, the basic neuroscience and neuropathology of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, mystical experiences and dreams, and the effects of drugs and meditation. It also discusses the nature of self, the possibility of artificial consciousness in robots, and the question of whether or not animals are conscious. PEDAGOGICAL FEATURES * Profiles of important philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, and biologists involved in consciousness studies * "Concept" text boxes that elucidate specific aspects of consciousness * "Practice" and "Activity" text boxes that encourage students to engage in practical exercises in class and at home * Bold marginal quotations that emphasize key ideas, and suggestions for further reading NEW TO THIS EDITION * Cutting-edge coverage of out-of-body experiences (Chapter 24), meditation (Chapter 26), and machine consciousness (Section 6) * A revised and enhanced art program featuring more than 230 photos, illustrations, and tables * A Companion Website at www.oup.com/us/blackmore offering links to online resources and new and emerging research; self-assessment exercises for students and instructors; and more information on the book's practices and exercises

Who are you? When are you? What were you conscious of a moment ago? This groundbreaking book sees acclaimed psychologist Susan Blackmore combining the latest scientific theories about mind, self, and consciousness with a lifetime s practice of Zen. Framed by ten critical questions derived from Zen teachings and designed to expand your understanding and experience of consciousness, Zen and the Art of Consciousness doesn t offer final - or easy - answers, but instead provides an inspiring exploration of how intellectual enquiry and meditation can tackle some of today s greatest scientific mysteries.

Wir Menschen sind erstaunliche Wesen. Unsere Koerper sind in der Evolution - genau wie die aller Tiere - durch naturliche Selektion entstanden, und doch unterscheiden wir uns von samtlichen anderen Geschoepfen in vielfaltiger Weise. Wir nutzen Sprache zur Kommunikation. Wir fuhren Kriege, glauben an Religionen, bestatten unsere Toten und sind bei Sex-Themen peinlich beruhrt. Wir sehen fern, fahren Auto und essen Eis. Warum sind wir so anders? Als einzige Vertreter unter den Tieren vermoegen Menschen andere zu imitieren und koennen so Ideen, Angewohnheiten, Fahigkeiten, Verhaltensweisen, Erfindungen, Lieder und Geschichten untereinander kopieren. All das sind Meme, ein Begriff, den Richard Dawkins 1976 am Ende seines Buches Das egoistische Gen gepragt hat. Wie Gene sind auch Meme Replikatoren; sie wetteifern darum, in so viele Gehirne wie moeglich zu gelangen, und diese Konkurrenz der Meme hat unseren Geist und unsere Kultur geformt, so wie die naturliche Selektion unsere Koerper modelliert hat. Wir Menschen sind, wozu die Meme uns gemacht haben: Wir sind allesamt Mem-Maschinen. Ist die Analogie zwischen Memen und Genen uberhaupt hilfreich? Fuhrt sie uns weiter - zu starken neuen Theorien, die tatsachlich etwas Wichtiges erklaren? Diese Fragen wirft Richard Dawkins in seinem Vorwort zu dem Buch auf, und seiner Ansicht nach gewinnt Susan Blackmore eben hier eigene Statur. >Sie gewoehnt uns zunachst mit einigen faszinierenden Denkanstoessen an den memetischen Stil der Argumentation. Warum reden wir so viel? Warum koennen wir nicht aufhoeren zu denken? Warum schwirren uns bestimmte Melodien im Kopf herum und qualen uns bis zur Schlaflosigkeit? Ihre Antwort leitet sie in allen Fallen auf die gleiche Weise ein: "Stellen Sie sich eine Welt voller Gehirne vor, in der es weitaus mehr Meme gibt, als unterkommen koennen. Nun fragen Sie sich: Welche Meme werden mit groesserer Wahrscheinlichkeit einen sicheren Unterschlupf finden und weiter gegeben werden?" Die Antwort ist einleuchtend, und sie verhilft uns zu einem besseren Verstandnis unserer selbst. Susan Blackmore geht geduldig und geschickt weiter vor und wendet dieselbe Methode auf immer tiefgrundigere und interessantere Probleme an. Wozu ist Sprache da? Was zieht uns an unseren Geschlechtspartnern an? Warum sind wir nett zueinander? Waren Meme die Triebfeder fur die rasche, massive und erstaunliche evolutionare Vergroesserung des menschlichen Gehirns?