Online Books by Andrew P. Smith
NEW! The Dimensions of Experience. A Natural History of Consciousness This self-published book tells a plausible story of how consciousness evolved, beginning with the simplest forms of existence. Citing recent studies in animal learning, perception and behavior, together with molecular biology, cell biology and neurophysiology, the book shows how dimensions of experienced space and time, together with increasing awareness of self and other, emerged in association with hierarchical complexity of information processing entities. The book adopts a panpsychist view, assuming that all forms of existence are conscious to some extent, but for those unpersuaded by this notion, the book can be read as an evolutionary history of increasingly more complex ways of interacting with the world. This is the first complete history of consciousness or perception ever written. (Published November 2008 by Xlibris. Currently availabe there, soon to be available at Amazon).
Illusions of Reality. The Myths of Meditation A critical examination of claims about meditation--what it is, how we do it, its benefits and effects. This book argues that many common beliefs about meditation are wrong, but that conversely, it can bring experiences and knowledge of a kind rarely mentioned in the classical literature. An attempt is made to establish some universal principles, including some that can be expressed mathematically. (Posted 12/26/2000. Nonfiction in 12 one-chapter sections, with 4 figures, two tables, footnotes and references - 50K words).
Worlds within Worlds. The Holarchy of Life This is a detailed elaboration of the hierarchical paradigm that seems to be the most promising candidate for unifying our current scientific understanding of the material and biological world with the available evidence of higher states of consciousness. (Posted July 2000. Nonfiction in 13 one-chapter sections, with 5 figures, 7 tables, footnotes and references - 135K words). A novel about a small group of people--each world famous in his or her particular walk of life--who drop out of civilization to form the nucleus of a futuristic society based on realizing higher consciousness. It features right-wing militias, a UFO, and a plot to take the President of the United States hostage. (Completed 1997. Posted July 2000. Fiction in 5 ten-chapter sections - 130K words). A novel that explores the interface between gene cloning, information technology, and higher consciousness. It features DNA-based transistors, genetic algorithms used to reproduce all of evolutionary history, and an internet program designed to raise the consciousness of everyone on earth. (Copyrighted 1997. Posted July 2000. Fiction in 7 five-chapter sections - 120K words).
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