Consciousness is not a mystery not an abstraction-and not an illusion: It is You and me individually.
For centuries, the mind and self have been wrapped in mystery, metaphysics, and misplaced ideas of souls and inner essences. Drawing on philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, and lived experience, this book argues that consciousness, mind, self, and memory are not separate phenomena. They are expressions of a single embodied process-one that unfolds through narrative.
The Narrative Mode and Nature of Consciousness strips these away and offers a simpler, more grounded account based on the principle of EMERGENCE which is the upper level of cause and effect.
We do not encounter the world directly. We know it through stories: cultural narratives, personal narratives; our personal and socially remembered narratives. These stories shape what we perceive, what we feel, and who we believe ourselves to be. Understanding consciousness, then, requires understanding how narratives work-how they emerge, how they persist, and how they can mislead us.
Consciousness, mind and self may all mean the same thing but we may consider its different aspects separately. If the self is a narrative, then narratives matter. And if narratives can be examined, they can also be revised, re written, reconsidered.
Written for thoughtful general readers this book invites you to reconsider deeply held assumptions about identity, meaning, and truth. It offers no spiritual consolations, but something more practical: clarity.
A materialist account of consciousness for those who prefer fewer mysteries- better questions, and straight uncommon sense answers!
From a young age, Dr Ted Todd has been driven to understand how humans think, feel and make sense of life - particularly in the face of pain and confusion. After emigrating from Hungary, building a life in Australia with a family and a successful business, he became widely known as "Ted" of Ted's Camera Stores. Later in life, he returned to study philosophy and psychology, ultimately completing a PhD at the age of 71. His work now focuses on human consciousness, the interplay of brain, mind, and body, and how personal narratives shape our lives.In this book, he offers an accessible, thought-provoking exploration of consciousness through a practical, science-informed lens. Challenging traditional ideas, he proposes that consciousness, mind, self, and memory are not separate entities but different aspects of the same embodied human experience - driven by the narratives we carry, both known and unconscious. Written for curious, reflective readers, the book blends popular science with a subtle self-help dimension, encouraging a clearer, more grounded understanding of how we live and why.
