August was a busier month of reading, as I settled in back home, excited to dig into some highly anticipated reads. Of the two books that I was really looking forward to (“Conscience” and “Conscious” – notice a theme?), only one failed to deliver. While “Conscious” by Sam Harris’ wife Annaka was mediocre, “Conscience” by Patricia Churchland really opened me up to new avenues of thinking. Her lens is that of Neurophilosophy, on which she heavily leans to develop a bio-historical narrative of the evolution of human morality. I found her explanations to be the most grounded that I’ve come across. While most authors build a book based on one domain or limited data, Churchland relates a very holistic, all inclusive process. This book does become a bit too tangential in many parts, but where she sticks to the point, this book is a very grounded, practical, view of morality. Any argument that belief in a higher power is necessary for one to have moral drives are easily dismantled in this book.
Here is my August reading list, in the order that I listened to them:
How to Lead – Without Being in Charge – Clay Scroggins **.5
Rethinking Positive Thinking – Gabrielle Oettingen ***
Human Errors – Nathan Lents ***.5
Rivals – Scott McCormick ***
A Grown-Up Guide to Dinosaurs – Ben Garrod ***.5
Conscience – Patricia Churchland ****
Lightly – Francine Jay ***
The Easy Way to Mindfulness – Allen Carr ***
Conscious – Annaka Harris ***
(if you are not yet an Audible member, you can get one of these books for free, by signing up for a 30 day trial – use this link, and you’ll help support my work as well – Audible Trial Membership)