Showing results by author "David Lane" in All Categories

This collection contains short essays, each written by different authors, on the following agnostic thinkers: Charles Darwin, John Dewey, Lynn Margulis, Leo Szilard, Isaiah Berlin, Thomas Kuhn, Enrico Fermi, Herbert Spencer, David Hume, G.E. Moore, Karl R. Popper, Bertrand Russell, Michael Schmidt-Salomon, Thomas Henry Huxley. The long introduction is by David Christopher Lane, Professor of Philosophy at Mt. San Antonio College. The appendix is a famous essay on agnosticism by the famed trial lawyer, Clarence Darrow. The entire book has been edited by Roberto Allende.

This book contains a critical essay/preface on the cultic nature of censorship in Roman Catholicism by David Christopher Lane, professor of philosophy at Mt. San Antonio College. The main body of the book is on the Roman Catholic Index of Forbidden Books, which banned such texts as Kant's Critique of Pure Reason and all books by David Hume. This text includes a list of banned books up to 1966. This is a fascinating glimpse into Catholic apologetics about how they justified censorsing books that are now considered classics.

This small book contains the essence of the "Yoga of Unknowing" which is the realization that as humans we will always have limited knowledge and following the lead of Nicholas of Cusa we should learn to be cognizant of our ignorance and thereby become more enlightened in the process. Also included is the essay "The Mystery of the Eight Realms" which touches upon how virtual reality technology is our own technological Plato's Cave and how understanding VR, MR, and AR can help us better understand consciousness.

This podcast is devoted to the lives and experiences of instrumental musicians who play for musical theatre. Listeners can hear the stories of what goes on in "the pit" and aspiring musicians can learn what it takes to become a pit musician.

In July of 1978 I was doing genealogical research at Sawan Ashram in Old Delhi, India. Although I was aptly forewarned that the heat in the summer was excruciating, the 90 percent humidity and 100 degree plus temperatures overwhelmed me. My only relief from the weather came in the evenings. But even then it was slight. On the second to last day of my stay, Jean Lyotard, a noted architect from Northern California, and I decided to spend some time on the roof of the monastery. He was leaving in a few days to go back to America.

This small book focuses on why understanding neuroscience and evolution can be helpful in understanding why thoughts arise (as virtual simulators) during meditation. Includes a pointed discussion on the importance of science in mapping our interior quests of consciousness.

This small audiobook contains the remarkable recollections of Kehr Singh who was the first person from India to bring the teachings of Radhasoami Satsang Beas to America in the early part of the 20th century. Because of his influence, the Great Master, Sawan Singh, became known and hundreds and eventually thousands came to be initiated into surat shabd yoga. Also contained within this audiobook are excerpts from Professor Andrea Diem-Lane's pioneering work on the early history of Radhasoami and Sant Mat in America and how it influenced several new religions.

This small book explores how the Radhasoami tradition via three distinctive branches (Agra, Beas, and Hoshiarpur) view science. Includes a close examination of the life and work of Rai Salig Ram, Jaimal Singh, and Faqir Chand.

For the past 45 years I have been researching the history of Radhasoami, as founded by Shiv Dayal Singh in Agra, India, back in the mid part of the 19th century. I am particularly fascinated by the early days of the movement and how it evolved from a relatively small and obscure satsang to a world-wide faith with millions of adherents. In this collection, wach author has provided us with an early interpretation of how Radhasoami developed and has also given us a summation of the group’s theology.

This is a small book on the great mystic-sage, Maharishi Shiv Brat Lal, who authored hundreds of books in Urdu, Hindi, and English. He is most famous today as the guru of Baba Faqir Chand, the unknowing sage of Hoshiarpur. Touches upon shabd yoga and Radhasoami and gives an outline of Maharishi's biography.

This edited collection of essays about cosmic consciousness was selected and edited by Professor David Christopher Lane. Includes excerpts from Yogananda, Bucke, St. Teresa of Avila, Ramakrishna, Ramana Maharshi, Huxley, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, and more. With an introduction and conclusion by Dr. Lane.

This book, edited by Professor David Christopher Lane from Mt. San Antonio College, contains 13 distinct essays each written by a different author on famous skeptics such as Brian Cox, Sam Harris, Phillip J. Klass, and more.

Describes the famous 14 dreams of Queen Trishala, the mother of Mahavira, one of the key spiritual figures in Jainism.

I bring up the subject of Gumby and the spiritual claims surrounding him because I am often asked in class about the verdicality of certain metaphysical claims that abound in religious mythologies. My usual rejoinder is that we don’t want to enter into “Gumby Land” when doing philosophy since most of these kinds of questions (how many angels can sit atop an empty coke top?) are literally non-sense (in the precise definition of that term as first coined in the 17th century).

This book contains an introduction by Professor David Christopher Lane on why the feeling of free will is an evolutionary hack. It contains judicious selections from the writings of Bertrand Russell, William James (for free will), Arthur Schopenhauer, and other philosophers and scientists on the issue of free will and determinism.

Promissory materialism is one of the standard canards that has been frequently used against science, particularly in the study of consciousness. This two-word invective gets repeatedly invoked whenever researchers argue that we will understand self-awareness in the future because then we will have a more robust and comprehensive neuroscience. Yet, anti-materialist critics (usually of a spiritual or religious bent) are anxious to know how long we have to wait for an answer, since this type of assurance has been trotted out for decades without any foreseeable payoff.

This small book explores four main topics: Professor Hoffmann's user interface theory of consciousness, Professor Lane's virtual simulation hypothesis of consciousness, Brandon Gillet's quantum mind understanding of consciousness, and the future implications of virtual reality and augmented reality.

Human interest in the nature of consciousness dates far back to our ancestral past. However, it is only in the last century or so that researchers and philosophers have been able to tackle the problem in a more scientific way. This is primarily due to our increasing understanding of human physiology and how our brain functions. The following essays briefly explore the life and work of pioneers in the field of consciousness studies.

This is a critical look at the extensive plagiarism of Gary Olsen and his spiritual group, MasterPath. Gary Olsen was a one-time follower of Eckankar but broke off and formed his own teachings, largely based on Eckankar and Radha Soami. This small book provides extensive documentation on why and how Gary Olsen appropriated copyrighted materials for his numerous books and discourses. Also included are original letters by Gary Olsen explaining why he plagiarized and an official apology from him back in 1995.

This small book contains three essays dealing with philosophy from William James, Bertrand Russell, and Frank Thilly - each 19th to 20th century thinkers. Provides a nice introductory glimpse into the progressive views of philosophical discourse. Selected and edited by Professor David Christopher Lane, PhD.