Philosophical/Psychological Books

[HellsWindStaff]

I have been craving something to read lately, and picked up the 48 Laws of Power. I'd heard part of it on audiobook before but never read it. Really enjoying it thus far. I find social interaction and trains of thought to be bigly interesting and while I've always been interested, I've never really read this type of nonfiction. I really like thinking about life as I'm reading it lol.

So I am looking for similar books. Christmas time is coming and I need some ideas too Anything you guys like?

Rules of Radicals I think could fall under this category as well. I only know the rules never read the book.

I am getting The Art of War and The Prince for Christmas

 

[meduser#420]

This had me questioning my history.

The Ancient Secret of the Flower of Life by
Drunvalo Melchizedek


Once, all life in the universe knew the Flower of Life as the creation pattern - the geometrical design leading us into and out of physical existence. Then from a very high state of consciousness we fell in darkness and forgot who we were. For thousands of years the secret was held in ancient artifacts and carvings around the world, and encoded in the cells of all life.
Here Drunvalo Melchizedek presents in text and graphics the first half of the Flower of Life Workshop, illuninating the mysteries of how we came to be, why the world is the way it is and the subtle energies that allow our awareness to blossom into its true beauty.

Sacred Geometry is the form beneath our being and points to a divine order in our reality. We can follow that order form the invisible atom to the infinite stars, finding ourselves at each step. The information here is one path, but between the lines and drawings lie the feminine gems of intuitive understanding.

Explore the miracle of our existence by meandering through the wonderland of geometry, science, ancient history and new discovery, seen through the widened vision of Drunvalo and the Flower of Life. Volume 2 will explore in great detail the Mer-Ka-Ba, the 55-foot-diameter energy field of the human lightbody. This knowledge leads to ascension and the next dimensional world.

edited to add content

 

[hibeam]

The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind by Julian Jaynes

...Bicameralism (the philosophy of "two-chamberedness") is a hypothesis in psychology that argues that the human mind once assumed a state in which cognitive functions were divided between one part of the brain which appears to be "speaking", and a second part which listens and obeys—a bicameral mind. The term was coined by Julian Jaynes, who presented the idea in his 1976 book The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind, wherein he made the case that a bicameral mentality was the normal and ubiquitous state of the human mind as recently as 3000 years ago. The hypothesis is generally not accepted by mainstream psychologists....Wikipedia

I have been re reading this book for the past decade. It never disappoints.

48 Laws of Power can get a bit anti social at points. I prefer the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tsu. But 48 has given me better self control in power transactions.

 

[OldOyler]

Peace,

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse.

Tough read, worth opening the mind for.

Excellent thread!

 

[Mr. Gweilo 420]

Cool thread. I suggest the The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying.

 

[HellsWindStaff]

Sweet ideas keep em coming, I'll check those out!

Funny, the finale of Westworld was titled the Bicameral Mind and I was unaware of what it is; fits well though!

 

[crawdad]

the conscious universe: part and whole in modern physical theory. (menas kafatos/robert nadeau)

its fairly technical, but it gets deep where it....matters.

 

[hibeam]

@HellsWindStaff , yes I noticed that. I read a lot of consciousness theory but Jaynes was the only writer who answered my questions about the EVOLUTION of consciousness, hemispheric differentiation, religion, and schizophrenia.

A much shorter and more approachable work is The Ego Tunnel: the Science of the Mind and the Myth of the Self, by Thomas Metzinger. It touches on the problem of the evolution of "me" in nature, but it delves very deeply into the phantom limb phenomenon.

 

[grokit]

The dichotomy of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Persig

... the book details two types of personalities: those who are interested mostly in gestalts (romantic viewpoints, such as Zen, focused on being "In the moment", and not on rational analysis), and those who seek to know the details, understand the inner workings, and master the mechanics (classic viewpoints with application of rational analysis, vis-a-vis motorcycle maintenance) and so on. ...

 

[hibeam]

@grokit Persig sure gave me a higher perspective, like Alan Watts on prickly and gooey people. Was Watts more a poet than a scholar?

 

[grokit]

@grokit Was Watts more a poet than a scholar?

My mother seems to think so. We disagree on a lot of things

 

[Kozzmozz]

Alain de Botton - how Proust can save your life

Not such a heavy hitter as others mentioned here, bit i'm in love with this one. Like it says, it"s an introduction to Proust's thinking, but you should see it as an excellent core principles collection.
I have red this short book many times, it makes you appriciate the smaller things in life.

 

[Milkinson]

@grokitWas Watts more a poet than a scholar?

Alan Watts described himself as an entertainer. He was many things! An excellent human mainly.
I read his book The Wisdom Of Insecurity recently (wonderful) but I like listening to his lectures better - what a voice!

I love his analogy of order/chaos and reality with the front and back of a tapestry. The man makes eternal sense.