<p>In this book Alan Wallace, a scholar and practitioner of Buddhism and with a background in science, argues for a new science of consciousness that takes subjectivity into account. He makes the point that consciousness is an unexplored and important domain of human existence and that current scientific paradigms systematically prevent its thorough investigation because of its own materialistic assumptions. The beginning of the book looks at the history and development of scientific materialism and its origins in Christian Europe during the scientific revolution. The author looks the history of scientific attempts at introspection, as well as modern criticisms of the possibility of observing the mind. Wallace proposes a new model for exploring consciousness guided by the insights of the world's contemplative traditions, focussing primarly on the Buddhist works attributed to Buddhaghosa, Asaṅga, and Padmasambhava. In the third section of the book, Wallace outlines the modern resistance to a science of observing the mind and documents the widespread influence of scientific materialism in the contemporary culture. (Zach Rowinski 2004-05-18)</p>
This book takes a bold new look at ways of exploring the nature, origins, and potentials of consciousness within the context of science and religion. It draws careful distinctions between four elements of the scientific tradition: science itself, scientific realism, scientific materialism, and scientism. Arguing that the metaphysical doctrine of scientific materialism has taken on the role of ersatz-religion for its adherents, it traces its development from its Greek and Judeo-Christian origins, focusing on the interrelation between the Protestant Reformation and the Scientific Revolution. It also looks at scientists' long term resistance to the firsthand study of consciousness and details the ways in which subjectivity has been deemed taboo within the scientific community. In conclusion, the book draws on William James's idea for a “science of religion” that would study the nature of religious and, in particular, contemplative experience.
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