Future of Post-Human Consciousness
| Author: | Baofu, Peter | |
| Year: | 2004 | |
| Pages: | 388 | |
| ISBN: | 0-7734-6517-0 978-0-7734-6517-6 | |
| Price: | $239.95 + shipping | |
| (Click the PayPal button to buy) | ||
This study argues that human consciousness will not last, to be superceded by post-human forms of consciousness (unto the direction of post-capitalism and post-democracy). The current obsession with the question of how human consciousness can emerge out of something physical is very much like asking how many angels can stand on the head of a pin in medieval scholasticism. The obsession obscures the need to transcend the debate. To this end, Dr. Baofu proposes methodological holism, which is to examine the issues of human consciousness (and other mental states), and its evolution into other forms in the future with a comprehensive analysis of all major theoretical dimensions which have been proposed in the literature. Eleven of them are classified in this project: physical, chemical, biological, psychological, organizational, institutional, structural, systematic, cultural, cosmological, and the rest. The study concludes that the current debate between reductionism and emergencism in the literature has reached a dead end and needs to be transcended.
Reviews
“[This work] is an energetic inquiry into wide-ranging aspects of the modern understanding of this centrally important yet deeply troublesome concept, and into what may be anticipated for the future. Its author, Dr. Baofu, is a scholar remarkable for the sweep of his interests and for his willingness to attack controversial issues…..we must thank him for extending his work further with this investigation of the distinctively modern idea of consciousness and of its prospects.” – Stephen F. Barker, Professor Emeritus, Philosophy, Johns Hopskins University
"Peter Baofu continues to challenge us with his assertions about things we take for granted. Like an archaeologist who has just unearthed some ancient coins, he turns over the concepts of Capitalism, Democracy, and Civilization in his previous books -, and now Consciousness in this new one, examining their depth and luster and speculates on their implications for future human history and its post-human successor on earth and in outer space. This book is a provocative, original read." - Sylvan Von Burg,Georgetown University
"Peter Baofu continues to challenge us with his assertions about things we take for granted. Like an archaeologist who has just unearthed some ancient coins, he turns over the concepts of Capitalism, Democracy, and Civilization in his previous books -, and now Consciousness in this new one, examining their depth and luster and speculates on their implications for future human history and its post-human successor on earth and in outer space. This book is a provocative, original read." - Sylvan Von Burg,Georgetown University
Table of Contents
Table of Contents:
List of Tables
Foreword
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction: From Primordiality to Human Consciousness
2. Having – On Basic and Artificial Needs
3. Belonging – On Community and Individuality
4. Being – On Spirituality and Materiality
5. Conclusion: From Human Consciousness to Floating Consciousness (and Others) in the Post-Human World
Bibliography, Index
List of Tables
Foreword
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction: From Primordiality to Human Consciousness
2. Having – On Basic and Artificial Needs
3. Belonging – On Community and Individuality
4. Being – On Spirituality and Materiality
5. Conclusion: From Human Consciousness to Floating Consciousness (and Others) in the Post-Human World
Bibliography, Index
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