Printable View
I have been interested in these topics and thoughts on the mind, and reality, and perception and well anything to do with the mind and thoughts and how they relate to the perception of self, and the world. But have never done anything with the interest. Now I am hoping to do something about that. Can you give a beginner a good book list to start with? Or a more specific branch of the two I should check out?
Here's a good free introductory psychology book, it's currently used by the MIT opencourseware. Use it to learn the basics of perception.
At the same time, watch this lecture (you can find the link to the video class), and this one too: the teacher doesn't touch the book but complents the information referring to classic studies and famous cases.
A good book to extend the subject while maintaining things very simple: Making up the Mind: How the Brain Creates Our Mental World by Chris Frith
As for philosophy:
Pm me if you want a more organized thing for the philosophy stuff ^^Quote:
Philosophy of Mind
Introduction
Jaegwon Kim. Philosophy of Mind (2011)
Paul Churchland. Matter and Consciousness : A Contemporary Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind (1988).
Tim Crane. *The Mechanical Mind: A Philosophical Introduction to Minds, Machines, and Mental Representation (2003).
David Chalmers' Philosophy of Mind: Current and Contemporary Readings (2002) is a good (and very large) sourcebook and includes excerpts from a number of the other important works listed here.
Intentionality and Mental Representation
Robert Cummins. Meaning and Mental Representation (1989).
Jerry Fodor. "Fodor's Guide to Mental Representation" Mind 373.94 (1985), 76-100
Stephen Stich and Ted A. Warfield, eds. Mental Representation: A Reader (1994).
William Ramsey. Representation Reconsidered (2006).
Jerry Fodor. The Language of Thought (1980).
The subjects you want to learn about can go quite deep in terms of complexity, so try to start with the basics and then go from there, knowing that if you want to get serious you'll have to dive into neuroscience too (yes, even philosophers nowadays can't afford to ignore it). Some TED talks are also very handy when it comes to some of these concepts.
PS: and watch the movie The Matrix. This may seem a joke, and many people don't realize it, but it's one of the best philosophical movie of the last decade, it has so many material regarding consciousness, dreams, perception, self, morality, etc etc, it's a true gem once you watch it beyond the typical action movie. Mandatory for your quest I'd say ^^
Zoth, thank you very much for the reply and the list. I will get started on this.
I have watched the Matrix and I love the comment the boy make about not trying to bend the spoon, but to merely think of it like there is no spoon, thinking of it like this makes all the physical obstacles of bending the spoon melt away. I also love in one of the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy books there is a woman who floats a few inches off the ground. It is explained by her falling and merely forgetting to hit the ground. I look at it like we are all hovering because we are atoms not quite touching one another and this is how moving through solid objects can happen. Anyways I am getting off topic lol
Thanks again for the reply and the list.
Something tells me you're going to be very disappointed when you start reading those philosophy and psychology texts...
Thomas Metzinger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaQuote:
Originally Posted by DreamingGhost
Very recommended - best you chase after him through the net and see what you find.
The Ego Tunnel is his "popular philosophy book" and just about what you're looking for - check this review: Metzinger
He does write about lucid dreaming as well - check this: Dreaming
The Myth of Sisyphus- by Albert Camus
Phenomenology of Perception- by Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Donald Landes
Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy- by William Barrett
Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl. A book about existential psychotherapy written by a doctor who survived three years in the concentration camps. His insights are profound and his tales from the camps are fascinating, albeit incredibly sad.
The Undiscovered Self - Carl Jung. I find Jung to be a bit difficult to read but I love his explorations and insights into dreams, the subconscious, the collective conscious, archetypes, and synchronicity.
The Divided Mind - John Sarno. Written by a doctor explaining the connection between thoughts/emotions and physical ailments. Can be a little boring, may not be what you're looking for, but it's worth a read if you're suffering physically.
I also read the first half of The Holographic Universe. It's a little mind-bending, similar to the Matrix.
Here is my reading list for this summer coming up, I think all of these books will be very interesting, hopefully to you as well.
Gulag Archipelago - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Meticulous account of the horrors of Soviet Russia with analysis of the psychology behind how it could be. Not an easy read at all (read a few hundred pages and it is tough to swallow neverending atrocity) but teaches a lot about truth and lies. (Added bonus will probably prevent you from ever being a socialist or communist :p)
Notes From Underground - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Explores the question of "If god is dead, then you can do whatever you want", looking forward to reading this one and uncovering more.
Beyond Good and Evil - Friedrich Nietzsche
Supposed to be the best Nietzsche book to read for beginners, explores the dangers of a world in which "god is dead".
Animal Farm - George Orwell
Classic warning about totalitarianism
Modern Man in Search of a Soul - Carl Jung
Not too sure what it is about but was recommended to me, should be interesting.