# Soul Dust

Canonical: https://www.bookquiver.com/nicholas-humphrey/soul-dust/9781849168915

![Soul Dust](https://quivercdn.com/covers/quercus/nicholas-humphrey/soul-dust_978-18-4916-891-5.png?v=2026-04-30%2008%3A41%3A16)

- Book: [Soul Dust](https://www.bookquiver.com/nicholas-humphrey/soul-dust) ([Soul Dust.md](https://www.bookquiver.com/nicholas-humphrey/soul-dust.md))
- Authors: [Nicholas Humphrey](https://www.bookquiver.com/nicholas-humphrey)
- Publisher: quercus
- Medium: ebook
- ISBN: 978-18-4916-891-5
- Published: 2011-12-22
- Language: en_GB
- Binding: E-book

## Description

How is consciousness possible? What biological purpose does it serve? Why do we value it so highly? In Soul Dust the psychologist Nicholas Humphrey, a leading figure in consciousness research, returns to the front-line with a startling new theory. Consciousness, he argues, is nothing less than a magical-mystery show that we stage for ourselves inside our own heads. This self-made show lights up the world for us, making us feel special and transcendent. Tightly argued, intellectually gripping and a joy to read, Soul Dust is a keenly anticipated book that provides answers to the deepest questions. It dovetails the 'hard problem of consciousness' with the matters that obsess us all - the fear of death, how life should be lived. Resting firmly on neuroscience and evolutionary theory, it is an uncompromising yet life-affirming work that never loses sight of the majesty and mystery of consciousness.