Radical Nature: The Soul of Matter

Christian de Quincey is a philosopher in the original meaning of the word--a "lover of wisdom--and he is not afraid to follow where wisdom leads. In the world revealed by de Quincey's impeccable philosophical eye, the feelings in our bodies are reliable sources of information and higher intelligence is to be found deep within the world around us. If you are interested in the evolution of consciousness and are willing to think outside the box, you'll love this book.

Radical Nature: Rediscovering The Soul Of Matter by Christian de Quincey (Professor of Philosophy and Consciousness Studies, John F. Kennedy University) is both a scientific and a spiritual treatise that meditates upon the essence of the soul and the spiritual existence of all life forms, including trees, animals, and of course humans. Presenting Professor de Quincy's conviction that consciousness exists down to the level of single-cell animals and beyond, Radical Nature is a intriguing study offering a transcendental viewpoint of living things. Radical Nature is very highly recommended reading for students of philosophy, metaphysics, spirituality, the nature of nature, and how the phenomena of consciousness is present in the physical world around us.

As a lover of animals (I run Ireland's newest, state-of-the-art boarding kennels...), I have always believed that animals have consciousness, and I've been amazed at the narrow-mindedness of scientists who want us to believe otherwise. In this book, Christian de Quincey takes those blinkered scientists to task and shows how absurd it is to believe that humans are so special. What I wasn't prepared for was how much further Dr. de Quincey takes us. Using the power of philosophy he lays out a convincing case that "consciousness goes all the way down"--that not only do animals and plants have consciousness or souls, but that all matter does (perhaps even rocks). I've never read a book that has so deeply challenged my view of things. And it's so rewarding to be taken to new levels of understanding. I was also surprised at how easy he makes it to read deep philosophy. Read this book and be prepared to be swept away into regions of your mind you never knew you had. He makes nature come alive. He saysit just right: "Nature has a mind of its own." Bravo!

Radical Nature: Rediscovering the Soul of Matter is a brilliant attempt by De Quincey to (re)solve many of the most essential and most meaningful enigmas of philosophy via his own unique synthesis of process philosophy. He intelligently and creatively grapples with most of the great (and ultimately the only really worthwhile) ontological and epistemological questions that mankind has pondered since the pre-Socratic philosophers. But of equal importance to the general reader (who usually finds philosophical explanations to be either too complex or too boring) De Quincey perspicuously explains his solutions in an intriguing, comprehensive and comprehensible way. He may actually make philosophy fun again, or should I say for the first time for most people. This compelling book deserves a very wide audience. I eagerly look forward to more creative syntheses from this astute multidisciplinary author.

Finally, an explanation of mind-body phenomena that is understandable and applicable to any field of endeavor --physics, psychology, medicine, ecology and beyond. I read this book cover-to-cover and was enthralled start to finish. de Quincey takes on all the great thinkers in the mind-body field, historical and contemporary, and then blends in his careful definitions of terms and unique ideas of sentient matter to formlulate his theory of radical naturalism, which posits that matter is not just "dead stuff" but is ensouled. The result is a blessing for anyone interested in the convergence of mind and body, matter and consciousness, and of the concrete with the spiritual.This book offers a new and essential foundation stone for my own work in soul-body healing, and I have already recommended it to friends and colleagues in medicine, psychology and philosophy. It is a "must-read" addition to the ongoing literature on consciousness and mind-body phenomena.