Evolution and Consciousness, Revised Edition: From a Barren Rocky Earth to Artists, Philosophers, Meditators and Psychotherapists

Contents
Foreword
	1 The Systems Perspective
	2 Consciousness in Evolution
Preface to the Revised Edition
Acknowledgements
Notes on Authors
Summary
Introduction: The Evolution of Consciousness: A New Perspective on Our Search for Meaning
	1 Models of the Evolution of Consciousness
	2 The Goal of the Journey
	3 Evolution and Consciousness: An Incredible Journey
1 The Evolution of Matter and Mind
	1 Introduction
	2 Methods of Inquiry: The Search for Meaning
	3 Evolutionary Psychopathology
	4 Consciousness and Learning
	5 Ultimate Causes
	6 Is Evolution Really Blind?
	7 The Evolution of Matter
	8 The Emergence of Life on Earth
	9 The Anthropic Principle
	10 The Evolution of Proteins and of Higher Forms of Life
	11 Quantum Biology
	12 From Rocks to Musicians, Engineers and Philosophers: The Problem of Entropy
	13 The Primacy of Mind over Matter?
	14 From Matter to Culture: A Co-operative Journey?
	15 The Animal Mind – Ethology
	16 The Missing Ingredient: Evolving Mind?
	17 Are There Limits to Darwinian Theory?
	18 Wallace’s Perspective: Teleological Considerations
	19 Evolutionary Patterns
	20 Circular Causality: A Systemic Approach
	21 Panpsychism: A Systemic Approach
	22 The Mind/Brain Issue: A Systemic Approach
	23 Genetic Expression: A Systemic View
	24 Evolution: A Systemic Approach
	25 Relevance to Psychotherapy
	26 Conclusions
2 Awareness: Constructivist, Psychodynamic and Eastern Perspectives
	1 Introduction
	2 Language and Awareness
	3 The Continuum of Experience
	4 The Experience of Meditation
	5 Maps and Territory: Kelly and Piaget
	6 Levels of Awareness: Kelly and Freud
	7 Reality: Kelly and Lacan
	8 Group Construing
	9 The Unconscious
	10 Pre-verbal and Somatic Construing
	11 Suspension
	12 Constriction and Dilation
	13 Submergence
	14 Loosening and Tightening
	15 Constructivism, Buddhism and Duality
	16 The Healing Essence of Buddhism
	17 Transcendence, Ascendance and Descendance
	18 Somatoform Disorders
	19 Catharsis, Insight and Integration
	20 Non-dual States
	21 Critique and Conclusions
3 Consciousness and Mindfulness
	1 Summary
	2 Introduction
	3 Suffering
	4 The Talking Cure
	5 The Inner Observer
	6 The Role of Meditation
	7 Mindfulness and Dis-Identification
	8 Awareness Training
	9 Attention, Awareness and Self-Regulation
	10 Somatisation versus Symbolisation
	11 Attachments
	12 Attachment and Loss
	13 Defensive Detachment
	14 Adaptive Dis-Identification
	15 Non-Attachment Techniques of the Orient
	16 More Advanced Mindfulness Meditation Practice
	17 The Silence of Meditation
	18 Mindfulness in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
	19 Psychoanalysis as Mindfulness
	20 Gestalt Therapy Perspective
	21 Abreaction, Insight and Integration
	22 Potential Problems with Detachment and Dis-Identification
	23 Pathological Regression
	24 Suitability
	25 Conclusions
4 The Development of Symbolisation from the Pre-verbal to the Trans-verbal
	1 Introduction
	2 Individual Development of Symbolisation
	3 Symbolisation and Communication
	4 Levels of Symbolic Development
	5 Pre-verbal Symbolisation: An Evolutionary Perspective
	6 Projective Identification
	7 Hysterical Identification
	8 Co-ontogeny, Identification and Transference
	9 Failures of Symbolisation: Somatisation
	10 Transitional Objects
	11 Symbolic “Castration”
	12 Sublimation
	13 Dreaming and Verbal Symbolisation
	14 Lacan and the Symbolic Order
	15 Society and Verbal Symbolisation
	16 Para-verbal Symbolisation
	17 Trans-verbal Symbolisation
	18 Summary and Conclusions
Conclusion
Bibliography
Author Index
Subject and Name Index
Endorsement