Authentic Knowing: The Convergence of Science and Spiritual Aspiration

What is the meaning of life? Where does everything come from? Why is anything? In Authentic Knowing, Imants Baruss shows us how we might transform ourselves so that we can come closer to answering these existential questions. Baruss argues persuasively that our knowledge is limited by the interpretations of experiences provided by the society around us. These include the materialistic explanations belonging to a traditional scientific worldview, which can account for neither the nature of matter nor anomalous phenomena, such as near-death experiences. However, authenticity, the effort to act on the basis of one's own understanding, can form the basis for answers to existential and scientific questions. Authentic Knowing is an accessible and humane presentation of our most basic concerns and draws on a wide variety of disciplines, including philosophy, psychology, and theoretical physics. Enhanced with the author's own varied experiences and copious references for those who seek to read further, this book will appeal to and challenge scientists, psychologists, and all those who have ever asked about the meaning of life.