Consciousness and Matter

This volume represents a collective effort to advance research on the perennial problem of matter and consciousness, body and mind. It contains contributions from the fields of philosophy, psychology, physiology, cosmology, and physics. However, its distinctive emphasis is on the key role of theology. The modern natural sciences historically arose as an attempt to read the second book of God--that is, the book of Nature. The contributors to this volume maintain that this orientation of early modern science was correct and that our contemporary understanding of matter and its link with the psychic world can only be plausibly advanced through an appeal to theology. Attempts to resolve the problem of consciousness without theological insights yield problematic reductions of mind to matter or vice versa. The authors maintain that a Christian theological understanding of creation and of humanity provides a framework for a more fruitful way forward in our interdisciplinary attempts to engage the issue.