This section of the website will give links to books that are either about the Middle Way, or that make an important contribution to our understanding of it. Where the books are by society committee members, they will be linked directly, and where they by others, they will be reviewed. If you have read any of these books you are welcome to add your own comments on them using the comment facility.
There are, of course, lots of books that can make a partial contribution to our understanding of the Middle Way. We aim to select only the best or most relevant here. Amongst these books there are also ones with different strengths: some are very rigorous but not so engaging, some very engaging or informative though not so rigorous. All at least need to be heading in a generally helpful direction from the standpoint of the Middle Way. In a few cases books may also look as though they are about the Middle Way (e.g. Lou Marinoff’s ‘The Middle Way’) and a review is posted here to warn you of its limitations.
Books about Middle Way Philosophy as such – i.e. the universal Middle Way rather than the Middle Way made subservient to a particular religious or other tradition.
The Middle Way in Buddhism books
Books that judge Buddhism from a Middle Way perspective, or at least offer an integrative and critical perspective on the Buddhist tradition
The Middle Way in Christianity books
Books that judge Christianity from a Middle Way perspective, or at least offer an integrative and critical perspective on the Christian tradition.
Books of psychology or neuroscience that offer useful and important resources for understanding the Middle Way or integration
Books on philosophical issues (such as scepticism, the justification of belief, or ethics) that can be helpful or inspiring in understanding the Middle Way
Books that develop our understanding of the embodied meaning thesis and its justification through philosophy, psychology, linguistics and cognitive science
Books that are useful in detailing or inspiring integrative practice
Science and Social Science books
Books that raise helpful scientific questions or evidence that can be related to the Middle Way or integration
Books about (or comprising) literature, visual arts and music that can be helpful in understanding or practising the Middle Way.
I would like to suggest
The Spirit of Science, from experiment to experience (a selection of lectures at the Mystics & Scientists conferences) – Edited by David Lorimer with lectures by George Trevelyan, James Lovelock, David Bohm, rupert Sheldrake and others.
difficulty **
suggested purchase link –
http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=2590825529&searchurl=bt.x%3D61%26amp%3Bbt.y%3D9%26amp%3Bsts%3Dt%26amp%3Btn%3DThe%2BSpirit%2Bof%2BScience
Hi Andrew
Welcome to the site and thanks for the suggestion. I’ve just looked up the blurb for the book on the internet (see below) and I was wondering what you understand by the phrase “… the intelligent heart of the cosmos.”? I could be wrong as I’ve not read the book, however it appears that with that sentence the blurb writer is indicating that the book is making a claim about conditions that is not subject to our experience. My understanding of the Middle Way is that such a claim is a metaphysical belief and therefore one we should try to avoid.
“The technical successes of modern science have obscured a deeper understanding of its place in human knowledge and in our value systems. For many, science belongs in a separate “compartment” from normal human experience, confined to the word of the laboratory. This can give rise to a dark, impersonal and inhuman image of science.In this collection, scientists and thinkers from a range of disciplines examine the relationship of scientific knowledge and practice to the wider dimension of human life and awareness. For some this appears as a dialogue between science and spirituality, for others an investigation into consciousness and the intelligent heart of the cosmos. Whether in physics, cosmology of biology, these essays explore the very nature of knowledge itself and the continuing role of human creativity, emphasizing the need for crossing disciplinary boundaries in our search for understanding.The contributions are based on papers given over 20 years at the annual “Mystics and Scientists” conferences in England.”