Paul Breer

The Spontaneous Self (eBook, ePUB)

Viable Alternatives to Free Will

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

Many philosophers have argued that free will may be no more than a flattering illusion. Few have gone on, however, to spell out what life would be like without that illusion. In The Spontaneous Self, Dr. Breer explores the many ways in which our everyday experience is likely to be affected by giving up a belief in free will. Topics include guilt, pride, credit, blame, ambition, fear, identity, power, and love. His analysis of what we stand to gain and lose by changing our beliefs draws upon the results of an eight-year attempt to dispel the illusion of free will in his own life. The Spontaneous Self describes the cognitive-emotional techniques he devised for uprooting the illusion of free will and the personal transformation that followed when he put those techniques into practice.

"The book is written in an extremely honest and engaging style. It presents a remarkably detailed, thoughtful, and provocative challenge to our ordinary attitudes about free will. Whether or not one agrees with it, it deserves serious study."

-Eli Hirsch, Associate Professor of Philosophy,

Brandeis University

Paul Breer is a sociologist who has used his retirement to explore the broader issues of spiritual philosophy. The interest in those issues, namely enlightenment and the anatman philosophy of Buddhism, first took root decades ago, leading eventually to study at the Zen Center in Rochester, New York. In the years that followed, it remained in the background of a university career devoted to teaching and research. The years of meditating and reading that followed finally bore fruit with the publication of The Spontaneous Self in 1987, leading in time to the more recent work, Beyond Self-Realization, which represents a continuation of the ideas spelled out in the previous work. A third work in the series is currently being written; it is entitled Walk on Water! (subtitle: Miracles Made Natural) and draws on insights and discoveries detailed in its two predecessors. Breer currently lives in the mountains of Western Colorado...

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Quantum Discovery
• Seitenzahl: 277
• Erscheinungstermin: 9. Dezember 2022
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781959314585
• Artikelnr.: 67384486

Autorenporträt

Since retiring from a life as college teacher and researcher, the author has spent most of his time writing books, essays and music. Some of his books explore questions of value (sociology) and free will (philosophy); others focus on music and the fine arts. His essays offer analyses of humanistic psychology and Eastern philosophy. Some of his musical compositions feature full orchestra; others are written for smaller ensembles including classical guitar. The Lady and the Lord represents Breer's most recent venture into literature, the previous four being Illusions of the Heart, a book-length work consisting of two novellas exploring the world of internet romance, Tashi, the tale of a young girl's love for an older man, The Reluctant Savior, the story of a man who discovers the art of healing and spends the rest of his days exploring that gift, and The Unwanted, the account of two men whose lives intersect... a boy from Southern Mexico who journeys north to find a better life in United States, and a Phoenix Sheriff whose life is changed forever by their meeting.