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Perspectives on Consciousness

Inquiries into Subjective Experience across Disciplines

Edited by Aviva Berkovich-Ohana, Or Raphael, Eviatar Shulman, David Rudrauf, Idan Segev

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$80.00 US

| $105.00 CAN

The MIT Press

On sale Dec 16, 2025 | 368 Pages | 9780262547062

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A scientific exploration of consciousness through the lens of subjective experience by leading interdisciplinary scholars.

This volume brings together international scholars from neuroscience, mathematics, physics, neurophenomenology, psychology, cognitive sciences, philosophy, and the study of Indian and Buddhist contemplative traditions.

The book explores fundamental questions such as: Is subjective experience crucial to understanding consciousness and in what ways? What is the significance of first-person perspectives, and how should they be integrated into scientific practices and methods? How do modern physics and neuroscience contribute to the quest for understanding consciousness? What are the ethical and political implications of the science of consciousness? Which practices assist the practitioner entering into altered states of consciousness, and what are the related benefits? What can the study of experience contribute to the study of consciousness? Can personal attitudes and reflections have a positive effect on the science of consciousness?

Almost all the contributions result from shared experiences, explored by participants in at least one of two consecutive workshops, where scientific discourse was integrated with experiential sessions.

Preface
1 Unapologetic Phenomenological Approach to the Study of Consciousness
Yochai Ataria
2 Meditation and Self-Consciousness: Neuroscience, Neurophenomenology, and Possible Implications
Aviva Berkovich-Ohana
3 Horizons of Examining Experience
Ema Demšar and Urban Kordeš
4 Disentangling Consciousness from the Self: A Buddhist Contribution to the Mind Sciences
Georges Dreyfus
5 Consciousness from the Inside
Stephen Fulder
6 Indirect Phenomenology: Prereflective Self-Awareness and Intersubjective Interaction
Shaun Gallagher
7 The Politics of Consciousness
Yuval Noah Harari
8 What Is Conscious Vision Good For? Debunking the Devil from the Details
Dominique Lamy
Nitzan Micher
9 Toward the Mathematics of Consciousness
Oded Maimon
Moshe Klein
10 Waves and Flames in the Creative and Conscious Human Brain
Rafael Malach
11 Do Quantum Theory and Human Consciousness Share Common Ground?
Zohar Maliniak
12 The Benevolent Potential of Spiritual Experiences That Encompass a Variety of States of Consciousness
Ofra Mayseless
13 Meditation: From Self-Regulation to Ego-Dissolution
Ulrich Ott
14 Meditative In-Action: An Endogenous Epistemic Venture
Giuseppe Pagnoni and Fausto Taiten Guareschi
15 My Peregrinations through Varela’s Neurophenomenological Horizon Towards the Mathematics of Subjective Experience
David Rudrauf
16 Has Quantum Mechanics Something to Say About Consciousness?
Shantena Augusto Sabbadini
17 The Neurophenomenology of Voluntary Action: The Libet Experiment with an Experienced Mediator
Stefan Schmidt
18 Consciousness is Definition-Dependent
Or Raphael
19 Biophysics of Consciousness or Can My Brain Explain My Pain?
Idan Segev
20 Consciousness and the First-Person
Yaron Senderowicz
21 Performing Space
Anat Shamgar and Tom Soloveitzik
22 The Indian Hard Problem of Consciousness
Eviatar Shulman
23 Consciousness and Cognition: A Personal Journey from Function to Phenomenology
Narayanan Srinivasan
24 Open-Ended Enquiry of Psychedelic Experiences via First-Person Methodologies and Neurophenomenology
Christopher Timmermann
25 Four Components of Subjectivity and The Projective Consciousness Model
Kenneth Williford
Contributors
Index