"The Mind and the Meaning of its Cultural Imperatives" covers my intellectual journey of six decades through the plethora of interdisciplinary fields such as economics, psychology, political science, sociology, philosophy, public affairs, urban planning, culture, organization theory, administration theory, est, Eastern philosophy, Buddhism, A.I., consciousness, neuroscience, astrophysics, etc. The ideas build on each other as the different subjects are explored. There are a number of speculative hypotheses and two major themes I propound: (1) that consciousness is a deep, deep, kind of matter, like a solid or gas, and (2) that along with our genetically determined behavior, throughout the evolution of living species, including humans, we have developed a higher form of cognitive, analytical, "slow thinking." This type of thinking emanates from all the cultural inputs and imperatives that humans have experienced throughout their lives, individually, and throughout history, collectively.
About the Author: Earl M. Blecher grew up in Brooklyn, New York. After graduating from Brooklyn College in 1958, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in Germany in 1959 and 1960. In 1962, he enrolled in graduate school in Michigan State University, and received a Masters in Urban Planning degree in 1964. While there, he was awarde4d a Graduate Assistanceship. After working as a City Planner in Miami, Florida, in 1965 he was awarded a Mellon Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, and received a PhD in Public and International Affairs in 1970. After directing a national research project on advocacy planning, he wrote a seminal book on the subject matter, which was published by Praeger, entitled "Advocacy Planning for Urban Development: with Analysis of Six Demonstration Programs." While working at several jobs and as a consultant in the field of public policy and affairs, he got interested in the field and philosophies of personal enlightenment and transformation, and did the est training in the summer of 1975. After attending subsequent seminars and exploring relevant literature regarding enlightenment and transformational philosophy and psychology, in 1976 - 1977 he wrote the original draft of what eventually evolved into the novel "The Best of est, or, Whaddya Mean, 'I'm not Responsible' ?" Pursuing a wide spectrum of intellectual pursuits and ideas over more than the past six decades, Dr. Blecher has explored writings regarding philosophy, neuroscience, consciousness, cosmology, determinism and free will, the nature of religion, "New-Age" psychology and philosophies, history and culture, while still retaining an avid interest in public and international affairs. He has written essays on all this subject matter, which led to the writing and publication of the current book, "The Mind and the Meaning of its Cultural Imperatives." In addition, he has written several fictional short stories, as well as writing a television drama and sitcom proposals. Although Earl is dealing with an incurable scarring of the lung disease, where each day of life is tenuous, if his dream of success in the intellectual and creative world comes true, he will call it "longevity's gift."