The Crucible of Consciousness

First religion explained how the mind emerged, language developed, and overall consciousness came into being. Many of these explanations were challenged during the "age of reason," grand metaphysical theories gradually displaced many of the religious perceptions of the world, only to be displaced by scientific advances at the start of the century. Now, Zoltan Torey, an Australian psychologist, freelance science writer, and science journalist for ABC Radio National in Australia, offers a new science-based theory of the human mind. Torey spent ten years using a process he calls reverse engineering, a process with a solid grounding in neuroscience, linguistics, and biological modelling to identify what we call the mind. He shows how it emerged, relates to language, generates consciousness, and yet remains hidden from insight. Sure to be controversial, The Crucible of Consciousness provides a unified description of the human mind, an antidote to the fragmented world and other simplistic belief-systems that occupy the cultural middleground.

Review :
"I think I have just read one of the great books of this century--no, of several centuries--comparable with Darwin's On the Origin of Species or Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity."--The Otago Daily Times "In Crucible of Consciousness he offers the reader a speculative, insightful book that represents a genuine contribution to knowledge. There is a willingness here to be imaginative which is balanced with a preparedness not to overstep the mark."--The Canberra Times "Stimulating reading"--Newcastle Morning Herald "This is a seriously important book, densely argued but brilliantly persuasive."--The Waikato Times "Retired clinical psychologist Zoltan Torey . . . 69, fled Hungary after World War II, migrating [to Australia] at 20. As a student working night shift in a factory, he was blinded in a chemical explosion. While in hospital, he decided to write a book that would attempt to explain human consciousness. David Lenton, 65, a former senior psychiatric charge nurse, has been Torey's reader, researcher, critic, fan and sounding board for the 26 years that it has taken to complete The Crucible of Consciousness."--Good Weekend "And now I want you to meet someone who I think is absolutely extraordinary. I go to a lot of conferences, and I've got to say they all blur after a while, and I can't remember where they were or what they were about, but every now and again you meet someone who sticks in the mind, and that's Zoltan Torey. A tall, gaunt, handsome man, wearing dark glasses to cover blind eyes, and deeply impressive. He turned out to be a psychologist, a philosopher, an independent academic, and an author . . . well Zoltan, this is the second time you and I have come into contact, and you've enriched my life every time. The Crucible of Consciousness . . . it's published by Oxford. Already, a couple of fine reviews. It thoroughly deserves your attention."--Philip Adams on Late Night Live