Bak, Per

how nature works: the science of self-criticality (1996)

Like chaos theory and fractals, a non-conventional and higher-level way of understanding  reality. The power law rules in sand piles, earthquakes, mass extinctions , language and more.

Barnett, Jake

Math savant (13) recovered from autism mostly. Sees the numbers like Tammet.

Link. YouTube. “The whole randomness thing. That flies completely against all physics.”

Beauregard, Mario

Brain Wars (2012)

Beauregard is a neuroscientist at the U. of Montreal. He acknowledges at length the many associations between physical brain processes and non-physical consciousness, and then argues forcefully for transmission over production.

Carter, Chris

“Does Consciousness Depend on the Brain?” (2012) link

A good brief summary of the arguments against dependent production and for transmission.  The links in this pdf were not working on 20120925.

Chalmers, David J.

The Character of Consciousness

(2010) (Kindle)

The hard question.

Colburn, Zerah

Normal child of 8 who did math savant operations w/o knowing how to do sums yet on paper.

See in Samuel Butler, Life and Habit (1910) quoted from William Benjamin Carpenter, a physiologist of the end of the nineteenth century.

Crookes, Sir William

Prominent chemist 1832-1919.

Wikipedia. “In 1870 Crookes decided that science had a duty to study preternatural phenomena associated with spiritualism.... [He] concluded that these phenomena could not be explained as conjuring, and that further research would be useful. Crookes was not alone in his views. Fellow scientists who came to believe in spiritualism included Alfred Russel Wallace, Oliver Lodge, Lord Rayleigh, and William James.

Dennett, Daniel C.

Consciousness Explained (1991)

Dennett is a classic materialist and widely respected in the intellectual community, I gather from reading around.

Dennett, Daniel C.

“Facing Backwards on the Problem of Consciousness” ” (1995) pdf

Response to Chalmers.

Ducasse, C J

The Belief in a Life After Death (1961, 1974) (Contact me if you’d like a pdf of the entire book.)

Spurred by the popularity of behaviorism (Watson, Skinner) and Ryle, Ducasse provides a sane counterweight in in clear language. A Princeton Philosophy professor with an interest in the paranormal.

Haisch, Bernard

The God Theory (2012)

Offers an understanding of God as “an infinite, conscious intelligence” that we participate in and argues for the dogmatism of science and the primacy of consciousness over matter. See my page here.

Huxley, Thomas Henry

“On the Hypothesis that Animals Are Automata, and Its History” (1874) pdf

Mind as epiphenomenon, like the whistle to the steam engine. Darwin’s bulldog. Animals include human beings.

Lamont, Corliss

The Illusion of Immortality (1935, 1990) (5th ed.)

Thomas Dewey writes the intro. An amazingly popular book, considering its title and contents.

Nagel, Thomas

“What is it like to be a bat?” (1974) pdf

“Even without the benefit of philosophical reflection, anyone who has spent some time in an enclosed space with an excited bat knows what it is to encounter a fundamentally alien form of life.”

Paravicini, Derrick

Blind music savant.

Link. Youtube.

Planck, Max

Planck’s Constant (1900)

Starts QM on its way. “I regard consciousness as fundamental; I regard matter as derivative from consciousness. We cannot get behind consciousness. Everything that we talk about, everything that we regard as existing, postulates consciousness.”

Ryle, Gilbert

The Concept of Mind (1949)

“Descartes’ Myth” (ch 1) pdf

The ghost in the machine.

Seung, Sebastian

How the Brain’s Wiring Makes Us Who We Are. (2012) Ted Talk “I am my connectome.”

“Does the brain's wiring make us who we are? Neuroscientists Sebastian Seung and Anothony Movshon debate minds, maps, and the future of their field. (Link to YouTube.)

Moderated by Robert Krulwich and Carl Zimmer Introduction by Stuart Firestein Columbia University April 2, 2012”

Sheldrake, Rupert

Science Set Free: 10 Paths to New Discovery (2012)

See here for his take on Dennett. Sheldrake is possibly the as yet unsung Darwin or Newton of our time. Here is his home page.

Strawson, Galen

“Realistic Monism: Why Physicalism Entails Panpsychism” (2006) pdf

Materialist who holds that materialism (now called physicalism) entails panpsychism. I favor panpsychism myself.

Tammet, Daniel

Born on a Blue Day (2006)

Math savant who sees the numbers come together as products etc.

Taylor, Jill Bolte

My Stroke of Insight (2006)

Neuroscientist who had a stroke in bed one morning. Vivid recollection of her mystical communion with the world on the way to death, brought back by her own struggle.

Wiltshire, Stephen

Autistic drawing artist with fantastic memory for details of city flyovers.

Link. Youtube. Also check out Richard Wawro.