Can thought arise out of matter? Can self, a soul, a consciousness, an I arise out of mere matter? If it cannot, then how can you or I be here? This title argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the 'strange loop' - a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains.

Charles Taylor's latest book sets out to define the modern identity by tracing its genesis.

In this text, Jung explains the essence of his teachings for a readership unfamiliar with his ideas. He highlights the importance of individual responsibility and freedom in the context of today's mass society.

A leading expert of the neurophysiology of emotions, Damasio shows how our consciousness arose out of the development of emotion. At its core human consciousness is consciousness of the feeling and experiencing self.

Written by a sociologist and historian of ideas whose works include Madness and Civilization , The Archaeology of Knowledge , The Birth of the Clinic and Discipline and Punish .

Part psychological study, part self-help book, this is a prescriptive guide that aims to help us reclaim ownership of our lives. The key is to challenge ourselves with tasks requiring a high degree of skill and commitment and thus learn the joy of complete engagement.

This psychology title explains how, by altering our perspective, we can achieve happiness, dispel disharmony and enter a state of perfect equilibrium - a state of flow .

Presents an analysis of the structures of social encounters from the perspective of the dramatic performance. This title shows us how people use such 'fixed props' as houses, clothes, and job situations; how they combine in teams resembling secret societies; and, how they adopt discrepant roles and communicate out of character.

Rorty argues that thinkers such as Nietzsche, Freud, and Wittgenstein have enabled societies to see themselves as historical contingencies.

Building a bridge between the humanities and the empirical sciences of the mind, he develops new conceptual toolkits and metaphors; uses case studies of unusual states of mind such as agnosia, neglect, blindsight, and hallucinations; and offers new sets of multilevel constraints for the concept of consciousness.

With new material by the author, a 25th-anniversary edition of the classic and practical guide to dealing with life's difficult and painful changes. Whether it is chosen or thrust upon you, change brings both opportunities and turmoil.

Exploring the deeper meaning of the home as a place for the soul.

Psychiatrist Gerald Jampolsky's timeless message may be even more timely today - the only thing that stands between us and the awesome energy of love is fear. To live without fear, we must stop analysing it, stop agonising over it, stop fighting with it, and let it go.

This is one of a number of major works which Jung wrote during his seventies that was concerned with the relationship between psychology, alchemy and religion. He is particularly concerned in this volume with the rise of Christianity and with the figure of Christ.

This work provides a 12-week course that guides the reader through the process of recovering their creative self. It aims to dispel the I'm not talented enough conditioning that tends to hamper the creativity of many people.

This study challenges the widely-held view that success in personal relationships is the only key to happiness. In a series of biographical sketches, it demonstrates how many of the creative geniuses of our civilization have been solitary, by temperament or circumstance.

When to Say Yes When to Say No to Take Control of Your Life.

This interactive business book provides individuals, managers and organisations with personalised tools to identify their talents and succeed at every level.

'What is a self, and how can a self come out of inaminate matter?' This book examines this riddle. Linking together the music of J S Bach, the graphic art of Escher and the mathematical theorems of Godel, as well as ideas drawn from logic, biology, psychology, physics and linguistics, it reveals the mysteries of human thought processes.