Philosophy in Recent American Fiction: Who am I to unravel the mystery of consciousness?

Friday, February 27, 2026

Who am I to unravel the mystery of consciousness?

"Who am I to unravel one of the three biggest mysteries in the universe? (The other two: Why is there something rather than nothing? And how did life arise from dead matter?) My main qualification is that I am a conscious human being who has become intensely curious about that fact. I also happen to be a science writer with a background in the humanities, which turned out to be more valuable than I would have expected. Literature, philosophy, and religion have been thinking longer and harder about consciousness than the sciences have, and I discovered that they have at least as much light to shed on the phenomenon. They can also help us defend the richness and complexity of consciousness from science's tendency to simplify whatever it is trying to explain."

— A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness by Michael Pollan

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APR 28 Conclude 36 Questions. Presentation: Jaylen. Exam (see review)... EXAM BONUS QUESTION (optional, worth up to 5 points): post, by Friday MAY 1, your 500 word (minimum) transcript of an imaginary conversation between Frank, Rafi (and/or Todd & Ina), Cass (and/or Roz & Lucinda), AND yourself, responding initially to the question "What have your experiences and relationships taught you about how to live?" ...MAY 2: OPTIONAL final report blog post (summarizing your final presentation), for extra credit.

Richard Powers, Playground

New York Times Bestseller Finalist for the 2024 Kirkus Prize Longlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize As Seen on CBS Saturday Morning • A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • One of the Ten Best Books of the Year, according to the Washington Post and AARP • A Time Must-Read Book of the Year • An NPR "Books We Love" Pick • An Economist, New Yorker, and Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year "Prepare to be awed.… [A]stonishing." —Ron Charles, Washington Post The magisterial novel from the Pulitzer Prize–winning and New York Times best-selling author of The Overstory and Bewilderment. Four lives are drawn together in a sweeping, panoramic novel from Richard Powers, showcasing the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Overstory at the height of his skills. Twelve-year-old Evie Beaulieu sinks to the bottom of a swimming pool in Montreal strapped to one of the world’s first aqualungs. Ina Aroita grows up on naval bases across the Pacific with art as her only home. Two polar opposites at an elite Chicago high school bond over a three-thousand-year-old board game; Rafi Young will get lost in literature, while Todd Keane’s work will lead to a startling AI breakthrough. They meet on the history-scarred island of Makatea in French Polynesia, whose deposits of phosphorus once helped to feed the world. Now the tiny atoll has been chosen for humanity’s next adventure: a plan to send floating, autonomous cities out onto the open sea. But first, the island’s residents must vote to greenlight the project or turn the seasteaders away. Set in the world’s largest ocean, this awe-filled book explores that last wild place we have yet to colonize in a still-unfolding oceanic game, and interweaves beautiful writing, rich characterization, profound themes of technology and the environment, and a deep exploration of our shared humanity in a way only Richard Powers can. W.W. Norton https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324123736 Richard Powers is the author of fourteen novels, including The Overstory, Bewilderment, and Orfeo. He is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, the Pulitzer Prize, and the National Book Award. He lives in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. http://www.richardpowers.nethttps://wwnorton.com/author/15239

Philosophy in Recent American Fiction

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Friday, February 27, 2026

Who am I to unravel the mystery of consciousness?

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