Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind - Hardcover

Bucke, Richard Maurice

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1907661603 ISBN 13: 9781907661600

Publisher: White Crow Books, 2011

Synopsis

Cosmic Consciousness: A Study in the Evolution of the Human Mind is Richard Bucke's theory that our mental states are evolving and that to date we have experienced three stages in the development of consciousness: the 'simple consciousness' of animals, the 'self-consciousness' of the vast majority of humans (reason, self awareness, imagination, etc.), and in some cases 'cosmic consciousness'; a mystical state of being beyond 'self consciousness' and the next stage of human development. Bucke hypothesized that 'cosmic consciousness' is slowly beginning to appear in humans and will eventually spread widely throughout the human race. He posited that certain notable individuals throughout history have demonstrated that they have attained 'cosmic consciousness'. In the book he cites examples such as Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, Dante, St Paul, Francis Bacon, William Blake, and his close friend Walt Whitman. Whitman, an American poet and journalist described cosmic consciousness as 'ineffable light, light rare, untellable, light beyond all signs, descriptions and languages.' At the age of thirty-five Bucke found himself in this elevated mental state and he describes (in the third person) the manifestations leading up to it; '1. The person, suddenly, without warning, has a sense of being immersed in a flame, or rose-colored cloud, or perhaps rather a sense that the mind is itself filled with such a cloud of haze. 2. At the same instant he is, as it were, bathed in an emotion of joy, assurance, triumph, salvation. 3. Simultaneously or instantly following the above sense and emotional experiences there comes to the person an intellectual illumination quite impossible to describe. Like a flash there is presented to his consciousness a clear conception (a vision) in outline of the meaning and drift of the universe. He does not come to believe merely; but he sees and knows that the cosmos, which to the self conscious mind seems made up of dead matter, is in fact far otherwise-is i

About this title

Book Description

Bucke's account (1901) of his research and contemplation on the trend towards heightened intellectual awareness in man, through evolution, explaining his theory of the three stages of conscious development that culminate in flashes of understanding of the life and order of the cosmos, illustrated by his own and others' experiences.

About the Author

Richard Maurice Bucke was born March 18, 1837, in Methwold, a village on the edge of the Norfolk fens, in England. When he was one year old, his father moved to Canada and Richard was subsequently educated at London Grammar School. He studied medicine at McGill University, graduating in 1862. He continued his studies in England and France, before returning to Canada in 1864 to take up medical practice. In 1876 he became medical superintendent of the insane asylum in Hamilton, Ontario, and in 1878 was medical superintendent of the insane asylum in London, Ontario. Around 1872 Bucke had what became for him a life-changing mystical experience which he called an "intellectual illumination." He spent the next thirty years seeking out other people who had a similar experience and reflecting upon the significance of such altering of consciousness. The literary result of his study, the book Cosmic Consciousness (1901), became a classic work on the subject. He theorized that a higher consciousness was a natural faculty in man at a certain state of development. Bucke passed away after slipping on a step on February 19, 1902, in London, Ontario.

Edition details

• Publisher: White Crow Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1907661603
• ISBN 13: 9781907661600
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 476