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eBook editionsA Secret History of Consciousnessby Gary Lachman
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:For the last four centuries, science has tried to account for everything in terms of atoms and molecules and the physical laws they adhere to. Recently, this effort was extended to try to include the inner world of human beings. Gary Lachman argues that this view of consciousness is misguided and unfounded. He points to another approach to the study and exploration of consciousness that erupted into public awareness in the late 1800s. In this "secret history of consciousness, " consciousness is seen not as a result of neurons and molecules, but as responsible for them; meaning is not imported from the outer world, but rather creates it. In this view, consciousness is a living, evolving presence whose development can be traced through different historical periods, and which evolves along a path to a broader, more expansive state. What that consciousness may be like and how it may be achieved is a major concern of this book. Lachman concentrates on the period since the late 1800s, when Madame Blavatsky first brought the secret history out into the open. As this history unfolds, we encounter the ideas of many modern thinkers, from esotericists like P. D. Ouspensky, Rudolf Steiner, and Colin Wilson to more mainstream philosophers like Henri Bergson, William James, Owen Barfield and the psychologist Andreas Mavromatis. Two little known but important thinkers play a major role in his synthesis — Jurij Moskvitin, who showed how our consciousness relates to the mechanisms of perception and to the external world, and Jean Gebser, who presented perhaps the most impressive case for the evolution of consciousness. Synopsis:In this work Gary Lachman shows that consciousness is a living, evolving presence whose development can be traced through different historical periods. Concentrating on late 19th-century onwards, Lachman exposes the "secret history" of consciousness. Synopsis:Includes bibliographical references (p. 309-314).
Table of ContentsPart one: the search for cosmic consciousness — R.M. Bucke and the future of humanity — William James and the anesthetic revelation — Henri Bergson and the Elan Vital — The superman — A.R. Orage and the new age — Ouspensky's fourth dimension — Part two: esoteric evolution — The bishop and the bulldog — Enter the madame — Dr. Steiner, I presume? — From Goethean science to the wisdom of the human being — Cosmic evolution — Hypnagogia — Part three: the archaeology of consciousness — The invisible mind — Cracking the egg — Lost worlds — Noncerebral consciousness — The split — Part four: participatory epistemology — The shock of metaphor — The participating mind — The tapestry of nature — Thinking about thinking — The black hole of consciousness — Other times and places — Faculty X — Part five: the presence of origin — The ascent of Mount Ventoux — Structures of consciousness — The mental-rational structure — The integral structure — Last words: playing for time.
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