For centuries scientists and philosophers have pondered the relationship between scientific theory and reality. Some have argued the "realist" position that science presents our best approximation of the natural world as it exists independently of human language and concepts. Others have long countered that humanity has no way of fathoming any reality independently of our modes of observation and conceptual frameworks. In their "instrumentalist" view, scientific theories simply make empirical evidence intelligible, without corresponding to any independent reality.

Analyzing both these positions, B. Alan Wallace points out the many assumptions required to adopt the realist view, and the nihilism implicit in the instrumentalist position. He then proposes a radical philosophical alternative based upon the Buddhist Centrist view. Avoiding the pitfalls of both realism and instrumentalism, as well as materialism and idealism, this perspective focuses on the participatory nature of scientific observation and theorizing. All phenomena are seen as dependently related events lending themselves to multiple interpretations, providing us with the freedom and responsibility to choose our reality within the context of valid experience. The concluding chapters of this provocative work explore the implications of this view for understanding the nature of the mind and its relation to the body.

Choosing Reality: A Buddhist View of Physics and the Mind, B. Alan Wallace, Snow Lion Publications, 206 pp, $18.95

B. Alan Wallace began his studies of Tibetan Buddhism, language, and culture in 1970 at the University of Gottingen and then continued his studies over the next fourteen years in India, Switzerland, and the United States. After graduating summa cum laude from Amherst College, where he studied physics and the philosophy of science, he went on to earn his Ph.D. in religious studies at Stanford University. He then taught for four years in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara, and is now the founder and president of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies (http://sbinstitute.com). He is also Chairman of the Thanypura Mind Centre (http://piamc.com) in Thailand, where he leads meditation retreats. He has edited, translated, authored, and contributed to more than forty books on Tibetan Buddhism, medicine, language, and culture, and the interface between science and Buddhism, including Meditations of a Buddhist Skeptic: A Manifesto for the Mind Sciences and Contemplative Practice, Mind in the Balance: Meditation in Science, Buddhism, and Christianity, and Hidden Dimensions: The Unification of Physics and Consciousness.

CONTENTS: Choosing Reality
Acknowledgments		7
Chapter 1:	Worlds Apart	9
Chapter 2:	Exploring the Nature of Empty Space	18
Chapter 3:	The Conception and Preservation of Energy	28
Chapter 4:	Views of Science and Reality through History	34
Chapter 5:	Scientific Realism Today	45
Chapter 6:	Assumptions of Scientific Realism	51
Chapter 7:	Theory and Discovery in Physical Science	59
Chapter 8:	The Hypothetical Realities of Physics	65
Chapter 9:	Quantum Reality	70
Chapter 10:	Uncertainty in the Quantum World	77
Chapter 11:	Scientific Realism in Review	82
Chapter 12:	Mathematical Realism	87
Chapter 13:	Instrumentalism	96
Chapter 14:	Seeking a Middle Way	105
Chapter 15:	Cosmology and a Participatory Universe	111
Chapter 16:	Concept and Experience	119
Chapter 17:	A Centrist View of Physical Science	131
Chapter 18:	A Centrist View of Contemplative Science	138
Chapter 19:	Experiencing a Centrist View	145
Chapter 20:	Realizing Personal Identitylessness	152
Chapter 21:	A Contemplative View of the Body	161
Chapter 22:	Subjective Experience and Objective Science	167
Chapter 23:	A Contemplative View of the Mind	177
Chapter 24:	Refining Human Consciousness	191
Chapter 25:	Worlds in Harmony	200
Notes		207
Bibliography		221
Index		229