Cosmic Consciousness
A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind
About the book
Psychiatrist Richard Maurice Bucke argues that human awareness comes in three grades: the simple consciousness shared with animals, the self-consciousness of most people, with its reason and imagination, and a rarer cosmic consciousness that he saw as the next stage of human development. To support the claim he gathers cases of illumination, including his own, that of Whitman and lesser known contemporaries, and those of Dante, William Blake, Plotinus, Buddha, Jesus, Paul, Muhammad and Francis Bacon. Bucke believed such experiences were becoming more frequent and that religious thought had grown less fearful over the centuries. William James and P. D. Ouspensky both welcomed the study when it appeared.
It appears on a published list of 14 books that inspired Steve Jobs, based on Kottke's account of their reading at Reed.
We hope you love the books people recommend! Just so you know, The CEO Library may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page.
This book has 1 recommendation
Steve Jobs (Founder/Apple)
Kottke recently shared a list of the books he and Jobs read around their time at Reed — ones that inspired Jobs's travels across the globe as well as his professional pursuits. One of the most influential works on that list is "Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind," originally published by a Canadian psychiatrist in 1901.
Get this book on Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books