The taboo of subjectivity
Subtitle: toward a new science of consciousness
By: B. Alan Wallace.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2000
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 218
Subjects: Religion and science; Materialism; Consciousness
Description: "This book takes a new look at ways of exploring the nature, origins, and potentials of consciousness within the context of science and religion. Alan Wallace 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, he traces its development from its Greek and Judeo-Christian origins, focusing on the interrelation between the Protestant Reformation and the Scientific Revolution."

"Wallace argues that the metaphysical principles of scientific materialism have long impeded scientific research into subjective states of awareness, including the nature of consciousness itself. Drawing on the writings of William James, Hilary Putnam, Augustine, and Indian Buddhist contemplatives such as Buddhaghosa, Asanga, and Padmasambhava, he presents a theoretical framework and mode of inquiry into human consciousness that combines both extraspective and introspective methods of research."

"In exploring the nature of consciousness, this study will help to bridge the chasm between religious belief and scientific knowledge. It is essential reading for philosophers and historians of science, scholars of religion, and anyone interested in the relationship between science and religion."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 197-208) and index.