Consciousness Reclaimed

About the Book

A major university press declared the book an “intellectual feast,” then refused to publish it. The book runs roughshod over “political correctness.” It declares current reductionist efforts to explain consciousness in inevitable stalemate--and in complicity with the nihilism of our time. Defying academic pessimism, it argues that human values are inherent in consciousness. It proposes a centuries-old conception basic to the thought of some leading intellectuals. This theory–that consciousness is generated by language–is for the first time supported by systematic arguments, from history, anthropology, neurology, psychology, linguistics, and a coherent hypothesis of evolutionary development.

About the Author

Samuel B. Southwell, who grew up in Texas oil fields and the U. S. Navy, holds a doctorate in literature from The University of Texas. He was in the foreign service in Mexico City and Guadalajara. He taught at Texas A&M University and the University of Houston, receiving a number of awards as a teacher. His wife Mary is a painter, his daughter Teresa a commercial artist, his son Michael a purchasing agent for a large corporation. In addition to Crossing the Wasteland, he has published a novel and books in literary criticism and philosophy.