The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us About Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life

The Illusion of Conscious Will

Daniel M. Wegner · 405 pages

The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind

Julian Jaynes · 486 pages

At the heart of this classic, seminal book is Julian Jaynes's still-controversial thesis that human consciousness did not begin far back in animal evolution but instead is a learned process that came about only three thousand years ago and is still developing. The implications of this revolutionary scientific paradigm extend into virtually every aspect of our psychology, our history and culture, o

The Ghost in the Machine

Arthur Koestler · 384 pages

The Ghost in the Machine is a work in philosophical psychology published in 1967. The title is a phrase coined by the Oxford philosopher Gilbert Ryle to describe the Cartesian dualist account of the mind–body relationship. Koestler shares with Ryle the view that the mind of a person is not an independent non-material entity, temporarily inhabiting and governing the body. One of the book's central

Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Us and Them

Joshua D. Greene · 422 pages

Our brains were designed for tribal life, for getting along with a select group of others (Us) and for fighting off everyone else (Them). But modern times have forced the world's tribes into a shared space, resulting in epic clashes of values along with unprecedented opportunities. As the world shrinks, the moral lines that divide us become more salient and more puzzling. We fight over everything

The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature

Steven Pinker · 528 pages

In The Blank Slate, Steven Pinker, one of the world's leading experts on language and the mind, explores the idea of human nature and its moral, emotional, and political colorings. With characteristic wit, lucidity, and insight, Pinker argues that the dogma that the mind has no innate traits-a doctrine held by many intellectuals during the past century-denies our common humanity and our individual

The Principles of Psychology, Vol 1

William James · 689 pages

One of the greatest classics of modern Western literature and science and the source of the ripest thoughts of America's most important philosopher.

Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion

Sam Harris · 256 pages

For the millions of Americans who want spirituality without religion, Waking Up is a guide to meditation as a rational practice informed by neuroscience and psychology. From Sam Harris, neuroscientist and author of numerous New York Times bestselling books, Waking Up is for the twenty percent of Americans who follow no religion but who suspect that important truths can be found in the experienc

Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud · 560 pages

Music and the Mind

Anthony Storr · 212 pages

Why does music have such a powerful effect on our minds and bodies? It is the most mysterious and most intangible of all forms of art. Yet, Anthony Storr believes, music today is a deeply significant experience for a greater number of people than ever before. In this challenging book, he explores why this should be so. Music is a succession of tones through time. How can a sequence of sounds both

Prometheus Rising

Robert Anton Wilson · 287 pages

Prometheus Rising is a book by Robert Anton Wilson first published in 1983. It is a guide book of "how to get from here to there", an amalgam of Timothy Leary's 8-circuit model of consciousness, Gurdjieff's self-observation exercises, Alfred Korzybski's general semantics, Aleister Crowley's magical theorems, Sociobiology, Yoga, relativity, and quantum mechanics, amongst other approaches to underst

How Pleasure Works: The New Science of Why We Like What We Like

Paul Bloom · 280 pages

In this fascinating and witty account, Yale psychologist Paul Bloom draws on insights from child development, philosophy, neuroscience, and behavioral economics to examine the science behind our curious desires, attractions, and tastes, covering everything from the animal instincts for sex and food to the uniquely human taste for art, music, and stories.

The Ego Trick: In Search Of The Self

Julian Baggini

The Self Illusion: Why There is No 'You' Inside Your Head [Extract]

Bruce M. Hood · 349 pages

Most of us believe that we are unique and coherent individuals, but are we? The idea of a "self" has existed ever since humans began to live in groups and become sociable. Those who embrace the self as an individual in the West, or a member of the group in the East, feel fulfilled and purposeful. This experience seems incredibly real but a wealth of recent scientific evidence reveals that this not

Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Enlightenment

Robert Wright · 336 pages

The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom

Jonathan Haidt · 297 pages

Applies the latest findings in psychology and brain research to the wisdom of the ancients to define what makes people happy and how you can find more happiness in your life. Confirms and builds on the happiness formula defined by other psychologists: H=S+C+V or Happiness = your biological Setpoint + the Conditions of your life + the Voluntary activities you do

The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement

David Brooks · 424 pages

From the influential and hugely popular "New York Times" columnist and bestselling author of "Bobos in Paradise" comes a landmark exploration of how human beings and communities succeed.

A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness

Michael Pollan · 320 pages

Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction

Susan Blackmore · 554 pages

Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal About the Mind

George Lakoff · 614 pages

Focusing on studies of how humans categorize objects and ideas, this book examines the new understanding of human thought which proposes that human reason is imaginative, metaphorical, and intrinsically linked with the human body.

The Art of Happiness

Dalai Lama XIV, Howard C. Cutler · 322 pages

Summary:One of the world's greatest spiritual leaders teams up with a psychiatrist to share, for the first time, how he achieved his hard-won serenity and how readers can attain the same inner peace

The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success

Kevin Dutton · 288 pages

In this engrossing journey into the lives of psychopaths and their infamously crafty behaviors, psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals that there is a scale of “madness” along which we all sit. Incorporating the latest advances in brain scanning and neuroscience, Dutton demonstrates that the brilliant neurosurgeon who lacks empathy has more in common with a Ted Bundy who kills for pleasure than we may

Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain

David Eagleman · 290 pages

"This book will shine light on some of the hard-to-reach places in the brain, showing the ways in which we are not the ones driving the boat. Why does the conscious mind know so little? What do visual illusions unmask about the machinery running under the hood? How much of our lives are determined by choices and behaviors that are hard-wired, unconscious, and beyond our control? Do we have any man

The Science of Evil: On Empathy and the Origins of Cruelty

Simon Baron-Cohen · 256 pages

On Being Certain: Believing You Are Right Even When You're Not

Robert A. Burton