The Science of Life and Consciousness books by Richard Underwood is a two book popular science series.
All conscious adults have lived longer than it takes to complete a PhD, so when it comes to the subject of life and consciousness, we should all be experts.
Unfortunately, despite the accumulated years of study, ‘life’ and ‘consciousness’ are subjects which have few experts, and what experts there are disagree about almost every facet of the subjects.
Both subjects are too complex for us to put into boxes labelled biology, chemistry, physics, phylosophy, etc. Life and consciousness incorporate all those disciplines and more.
This series is an attempt to broaden our horizon by examining the examining the smallest particles from which all living things are made and the enigma of consciousness.
The Science of Life and Consciousness books by Richard Underwood. The first book in the series is ‘A Brief History of Life’. The second book in the series is ‘A Brief History of Consciousness’.
The Science of Life and Consciousness books by Richard Underwood are available as a FREE ebook from all the following online booksellers
A BRIEF HISTORY OF LIFE: From The Origin of Life To The End Of The Universe – Life is something we all understand. We feel it physically and emotionally. We have examined our own life internally and externally. We have examined other people’s lives externally. Many of us have experienced the joy a new life brings, and the heartache the death of a loved one brings.
All adults have lived longer than it takes to complete a PhD, so when it comes to the subject of life, we should all be experts. Unfortunately, despite the accumulated years of study, ‘life’ is a subject which has few experts, and what experts there are disagree about almost every facet of the subject.
My own years of study have led me to believe we have been too close to the subject. We are so familiar with seeing life all around us that we have lost the ability to view it objectively. Life is too complex for us to put it into boxes labelled biology, chemistry, physics, etc. because it incorporates all those disciplines and more.
This popular science book is an attempt to broaden our horizon by looking at life from two different perspectives. Inwardly, it examines the smallest particles from which all living things are made. Outwardly, it considers our place in the vastness of our universe.
Life is a self-sustained chemical system capable of undergoing evolution.
Richard Underwood, 2022
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CONSCIOUSNESS: From Individual Consciousness to Quantum Consciousness – I know ‘I’ am conscious, but what is consciousness anyway, and who or what am ‘I’.
This book is about phenomenal, or subjective, consciousness, the inner world of my thoughts, feelings, and emotions. It is about what it feels like to be ‘me’.
Consciousness makes ‘me’ unique from all the other people in the world. It is the sum of everything I can remember and can call to mind, everything I am currently experiencing and thinking about, and all the things that make me feel what it feels like to be ‘me’.
When it comes to consciousness, there is nothing to see and little to examine. The only consciousness we can examine in real depth over a prolonged period of time is our own, and even our own consciousness is a mystery to us.
Philosophers, neuroscientists, psychologists and others have all failed to agree on what consciousness is, where it can be found, or even what it takes to be conscious. That hasn’t prevented a plethora of theories, none of which have achieved universal scientific acceptance, and most of which are examined in this book.
At the end of the book, the author tackles the thorny question of what happens to our consciousness after death, and points out that whether we believe consciousness transcends death depends entirely upon which theory of consciousness we believe.
Consciousness is the awareness of past and present experiences, sensations, and emotions, combined with anticipation of future experiences, sensations, and emotions.
Consciousness is what makes ‘me’ unique from all the other living things in the world. It is the sum of everything I can remember and can call to mind, everything I am currently experiencing and thinking about, and all the things that make me feel what it feels like to be me.
Richard Underwood, 2025
The Science of Life and Consciousness books by Richard Underwood
