Thanks Chris, The Passion of the Western Mind gets my three votes. The discussion could be lively. That will be fun.

Two votes for Shermer, one for Tarnas.

I'm most interested in the implications of recent science on the nature of consciousness, which is what it sounds like Shermer addresses. The Tarnas book sounds interesting too.

oblivion wrote:What we would actually be doing is using the direction, the influence of, this very line of thought in order to actually talk about it. This is part of our culture--how much of it do we recognize?

And to what extent is it possible to use the tools a culture provides to truly understand the culture? By defining what's matters and what doesn't, I suspect culture directs our attention, somewhat in the same way a magician does so that we fail to notice some features of our experience. I think understanding culture requires that we be able to step aside from it, at least momentarily, and develop the ability to look without preconceptions or judgements. I'm guessing some of what Shermer shares might help explain why doing this is so difficult.

I'll cast 1 vote for each so that brings the current tally to...

Book 1
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek - 4 votes

Book 2
The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas that Have Shaped Our World View - 17 votes

Book 3
The Science of Good and Evil: Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule - 3 votes

I'm ending this poll now as the winner is pretty clear. Thank you to everyone that contributed in this book selection process. I'll try to have the new book announced and the forum up as quickly as possible.