Thinking Beyond Materialism

Arthur Zajonc is Emeritus Professor of Physics at Amherst College and the former President of the Mind & Life Institute. His previous books include Catching the Light: The Entwined History of Light and Mind; Meditation as Contemplative Inquiry: When Knowing Becomes Love; and, with George Greenstein, The Quantum Challenge: Modern Research on the Foundations of Quantum Mechanics.

• Foreword The Dalai LamaPrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroduction1. Science and the Transcendent2. From Moral Law to Quantum Mechanics3. In Search of an Enduring Reality4. Implications of Relativity5. Coincidence of Opposites6. Matter As Experience 7. Matter As Idea8. Relational Reality9. Science of the Soul10. Embracing AmbiguityAcknowledgmentsNotesBibliographyIndex

"In this book, Arthur Zajonc argues against the reductionist claims of science and seeks a way to fruitfully include contemplative understanding in a comprehensive, integrated worldview that reaches beyond materialism. I find his way of thiniking similar to my own." — H. H. the Dalai Lama"Synthesizing physics with a philosophy based on the primacy of experience and contemplation, Zajonc provides a decisive alternative to materialism, offering a new path forward for science and human experience in the twenty-first century. A landmark book." — Evan Thompson, University of British Columbia"This aptly titled (and subtitled) book is a delight to read. Don’t be put off by the weight of the subject(s).  Starting at an early age, Arthur Zajonc—treasured educator, scholar, physicist, meditator and friend to many, including the Dalai Lama—set out to discover 'an enduring, living, reality' as a guide to living well. He found it. He has lived it, and in this, his capstone work, he brings us along for the ride in a rare combination of vivid storytelling and astute analysis. It's fun, it's fulfilling, and it couldn't be more timely or important as we humans confront multiple threats to our shared humanity." — Diana Chapman Walsh, President Emerita, Wellesley College, and author of The Claims of Life: A Memoir