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Title details for The Transcendent Brain by Alan Lightman - Available

The Transcendent Brain

Spirituality in the Age of Science

by Alan Lightman
Christopher Grove
Audiobook (Includes supplementary content)
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
From the best-selling author of Einstein’s Dreams comes a rich, fascinating answer to the question, Can the scientifically inclined still hold space for spirituality?
Gazing at the stars, falling in love, or listening to music, we sometimes feel a transcendent connection with a cosmic unity and things larger than ourselves. But these experiences are not easily understood by science, which holds that all things can be explained in terms of atoms and molecules. Is there space in our scientific worldview for these spiritual experiences?
According to acclaimed physicist and novelist Alan Lightman, there may be. Drawing on intellectual history and conversations with contemporary scientists, philosophers, and psychologists, Lightman asks a series of thought-provoking questions that illuminate our strange place between the world of particles and forces and the world of complex human experience. Can strict materialism explain our appreciation of beauty? Or our feelings of connection to nature and to other people? Is there a physical basis for consciousness, the most slippery of all scientific problems?
Lightman weaves these investigations together to propose what he calls “spiritual materialism”—the belief that we can embrace spiritual experiences without letting go of our scientific worldview. In his view, the breadth of the human condition is not only rooted in material atoms and molecules but can also be explained in terms of Darwinian evolution.
What is revealed in this lyrical, enlightening book is that spirituality may not only be compatible with science, it also ought to remain at the core of what it means to be human.
* This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF that contains illustrations from the printed book. 

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    March 14, 2023

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780593669167
      • File size: 141397 KB
      • Duration: 04:54:34

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 30, 2023
      Science and spirituality converge in this probing examination of humanity’s connection to the divine. Physicist Lightman (Probable Impossibilities) contends that “some human experiences are simply not reducible to zeros and ones” and draws on philosophy and science to suggest that materialism and spirituality are compatible. He digs into the history of both perspectives, noting that 18th-century philosopher Moses Mendelssohn believed a soul must exist to integrate the different parts of the human body into a cohesive experience and that, on the other end of the spectrum, Roman philosopher Titus Lucretius Carus argued “everything that happens in the world... originates from the movement and properties of physical atoms, not the gods.” Reconciling these opposing views, Lightman broaches the possibility that spirituality could be evolutionarily beneficial, with the need to feel part of “something larger than one’s self” impelling early humans to cooperate and the appreciation of transcendent beauty stemming from beauty’s role in sexual attraction. The prose is reflective and lyrical, and Lightman’s arguments succeed in walking the fine line between honoring spiritual experiences without lapsing into pseudoscience. Thoughtful and intellectually rigorous, this treatise impresses.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Christopher Grove's performance is subtly captivating. He conveys lofty, often complex scientific questions with an earnest, gentle touch. Lightman's audiobook offers fascinating ideas about the nature of human existence. The range covered is staggering. Listeners will move from considering what constitutes the true level of existence when a molecule can no longer be split to pondering the concept of expanding regenerating solar systems--in other words, an actual multiverse. Yet as the title suggests, all this relates to the human brain and what it means to be aware, to remember, and to die--which inspires questions about the material and the spiritual. Grove's delivery embodies the scientific focus of Lightman's work. He's direct and clear. Most importantly, he invites the listener's curiosity. S.P.C. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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