Jonardon Ganeri
In a game-changing book that is both an intellectual tour-de-force and the courageous statement of a life's ideal, Evan Thompson brilliantly demonstrates how Indian philosophical thought can join forces with the neurosciences to create a new science of the conscious mind. A must-read for anyone who believes that the future of philosophy is cross-cultural.
Richard J. Davidson
Evan Thompson, a philosopher with a deep knowledge of Indo-Tibetan contemplative traditions and modern neuroscience, has written a brilliant and comprehensive book on the nature of awareness and the self. Waking, Dreaming, Being is a dazzling synthesis. Thompson takes on some of the most fundamental questions about the nature of mind and addresses them with remarkable creativity and clarity. This volume is a must read for any serious student of the mind and consciousness.
Thupten Jinpa
Waking, Dreaming, Being powerfully demonstrates how bringing cognitive science, philosophy and Buddhism into a critical engagement can open innovative ways of exploring the "hard problem" of consciousness. The blending of philosophical rigor and scientific knowledge with meditative insights, with the author's own remarkable life as the larger background, makes the book a real joy to read. This book will be an invaluable help to anyone who is interested in knowing how the fundamental questions of self, consciousness and human existence can be explored in a way that combines the best of both East and West.
William S. Waldron
Waking, Dreaming, Being is the kind of sophisticated, yet still extremely incredibly accessible, treatment of consciousness we have been waiting for. Just what does it mean to be human, to have this range of experience, and what are various ways we can use, indeed must use, to investigate this? This book pushes us to think beyond our entrenched conceptual boundaries, not with vague arguments or wishful thinking but with equal doses of logical rigor and phenomenological empathy.
Robert H. Sharf
Evan Thompson has been at the forefront of the fields of philosophy of mind and cognitive science for the past two decades, and his technical competence extends to Asian philosophy as well. Waking, Dreaming, Being ventures down paths that many 'serious scholars' fear to tread, dealing not only with traditional epistemological puzzles posed by dreaming and dreamless sleep but also with near-death experiences and other extraordinary states. Thompson covers a tremendous amount of ground in this volume, and his analysis is informed by an interdisciplinary breadth that is second to none.
Stephen LaBerge
A fascinating exploration of the varieties of consciousness. Drawing on multiple sources of knowledge ranging from Eastern contemplative traditions to Western neuroscience, all tested by first person experience and critical analysis, Evan Thompson presents an illuminating neurophenomenological account of what it's like to be a conscious human being, whether perceiving, dreaming, sleeping or waking.
Jesse Prinz
With extensive training in Buddhism, brain science, and phenomenology, Evan Thompson is uniquely positioned to reveal how different perspectives on the mind can be mutually illuminating. He begins with the Buddhist insight that there are many forms of consciousness--far more than traditionally recognized in the West--and he shows that these can be associated with deferent brain processes. The result is a richly original and integrated account of human mental life. Whether you are a curious newcomer or a seasoned expert, you have much to learn from this stunning synthesis of ancient wisdom and cutting-edge science.
Alfred W. Kaszniak
Lively, engaging, and accessible, Waking, Dreaming, Being makes clear the relevance and relationship of contemplative neuroscience and neurophenomenology to core questions in the philosophy of mind.
