Why is consciousness such a special and difficult issue for twenty-first century science? This book explores the big questions on the nature of brains, minds, and consciousness, through twenty interviews with some of the best-known personalities from the worlds of science and philosophy.

Essential reading for anyone seeking to understand their own mind and to find a spiritual path that is compatible with science As an impressionable young student, Susan Blackmore had an intense, dramatic and life-changing experience, seeming to leave her body and travel the world. With no rational explanation for her out-of-body experience (OBE) she turned to astral projection and the paranormal, but soon despaired of finding answers. Decades later, a Swiss neurosurgeon accidentally discovered the spot in the brain that can induce OBEs and everything changed; this crucial spot is part of...