#000458
The Roots of Consciousness: Psychic Liberation through History, Science and Experience
Jeffrey Mishlove
A sprawling, sympathetic tour of the psychic and the paranormal by the man who holds what's often called the only accredited U.S. doctorate in parapsychology — later the familiar host of public television's Thinking Allowed. Rather than argue a thesis, Jeffrey Mishlove compiles: history, laboratory science, and lived experience of psychic phenomena from ancient traditions to modern experiments, held together by the conviction that such capacities are latent in everyone. To his credit, he sets skeptics beside believers. It's best read as a guided map of a fringe field — the concepts, the personalities, the lineage — rather than as proof, since much of the evidence remains contested and the framing is a believer's. For the curious surveyor of the far edges of consciousness, it's a rich atlas.
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The author
Jeffrey Mishlove (b. 1946) is an American parapsychologist who earned an interdisciplinary doctoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1980 — widely cited as the only accredited U.S. doctorate in the subject. He later hosted the long-running public-television interview series Thinking Allowed, becoming a familiar public face for consciousness research.
The book
The Roots of Consciousness is a compendium rather than a thesis, surveying the history, science and lived experience of psychic phenomena — from ancient traditions to laboratory parapsychology. Its title nods to cosmologist Arthur M. Young, and its organizing conviction is that such capacities are latent in everyone. Crucially, Mishlove presents skeptics alongside advocates.
How to read it
Best approached as a guided tour of a fringe field by a sympathetic but literate insider. Read it for the map — the concepts, personalities and history — rather than for proof; the science of many claims remains contested, and Mishlove's own framing is a believer's. A revised edition recasts it as an encyclopedia of consciousness studies.
For more context
Skeptical readers may want to pair it with critical treatments of parapsychology to weigh the evidence from both sides.
Sources
- Type
- Book
- Author / Maker
- Jeffrey Mishlove
- ISBN
- None
- Shelf
- Spirituality & Philosophy
- Location
- Colorado