Praise for Beyond Physicalism

“Beyond Physicalism articulates a cogent and compelling alternative to the distorted ‘all or nothing’ dichotomy between narrow-minded religious fundamentalisms and an equally dogmatic and rigid scientism.”

—G. William Barnard, professor of Religious Studies, Southern
Methodist University

“Beyond Physicalism lays several stones for the foundation of a new world-view. No book has gone further toward reconciling science and spirituality.”

—William Eastman, former Director of SUNY Press

“This book offers a third way, reconciling science and spirituality without diluting either. Robust and evidence based, this work by highly respected scholars and scientists demolishes orthodoxies right and left, allowing the reader a way forward past the Scylla and Charybdis of religious and scientific fundamentalisms.”

—David J. Hufford, professor emeritus, Penn State College of Medicine

“Beyond Physicalism is much more than a book. It is the intimate expression of a decade and a half of critical but collegial conversations between established scientists and professional humanists around some of the most important but still unsettled questions facing humanity: those involving the nature of mind or consciousness—that is, the nature of us.”

—Jeffrey J. Kripal, J. Newton Rayzor Professor of Religious Studies, Rice University

“Some of the philosophical problems that occupied William James longest and deepest, along with solutions he thought most promising, have literally been written out of history. This volume presents the first serious collective attempt since James’ death to revive his project. Its chapters are characterized by an intellectual ethos reminiscent of the ‘father’ of modern American psychology himself: sympathetic open-mindedness made fruitful through disciplined, calm and penetrating rigor.”

—Andreas Sommer, junior research fellow in History and Philosophy of Science, Churchill College, University of Cambridge

“Kelly and colleagues’ first book, Irreducible Mind, carefully documented research supporting the notion that consciousness is not simply a product of neural activity. This second book, Beyond Physicalism, brings together key scholars in the areas of quantum physics, psychology, Asian philosophy and mysticism to thoughtfully explore how mystical and psi experiences can fit into an expanded scientific worldview.”

—Marjorie Woollacott, professor, Department of Human Physiology and Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon

Beyond Physicalism

Beyond Physicalism

Toward Reconciliation of Science
and Spirituality

Edited by Edward F. Kelly,
Adam Crabtree, and Paul Marshall

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham • Boulder • New York • London

Published by Rowman & Littlefield

A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

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www.rowman.com

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Copyright © 2015 by Rowman & Littlefield

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Beyond physicalism : toward reconciliation of science and spirituality / edited by Edward F. Kelly, Adam Crabtree, and Paul Marshall.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4422-3238-9 (cloth : alk. paper)—ISBN 978-1-4422-3240-2 (electronic)

1. Religion and science. I. Kelly, Edward F., editor. II. Crabtree, Adam, editor. III. Marshall, Paul (Paul David), editor.

BL241.B445 2015

201'.65—dc23

2014039921

^TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America