Our Fictional Minds

In Buddhism, the self is not a thing, but a process—impermanent, dependent, and ultimately empty. Our Fictional Minds explores this central truth in modern language, tracing how identity forms through habit, memory, and mental fabrication.

Drawing from Buddhist teachings alongside neuroscience, psychology, and physics, this revolutionary book shows how clinging to self-stories leads to suffering. David Fisher shows that, when we try to manage the uncontrollable, preserve what cannot last, and explain what cannot be pinned down, we reinforce suffering rather than escaping it.

Through psychological case studies, meditation-inspired reflections, and clear writing, Our Fictional Minds shows how Western science is only beginning to glimpse what Buddhist thought understood long ago: that perception is shaped, not found; that mind is a maker of models, not a mirror of truth. Each chapter is a gentle dismantling of ego’s constructions—pointing not to despair, but to freedom, speaking to those who have sat on a cushion and watched the mind build identities from thoughts.

You’ll find reflections on impermanence, karma, interdependence, and the illusion of control. But more than concepts, the book encourages a practice: to witness how we create our world, and to loosen our grip. The goal isn’t to reject the self, but to stop mistaking it for what we are.

For readers of Buddhist psychology, modern brain science, Zen philosophy, or mindfulness traditions, Our Fictional Minds offers a bridge between contemplative insight and modern life. Our Fictional Minds invites you to pause the search for a solid self—and consider the possibility that what you are is already wide open. If liberation begins with seeing clearly, this book helps clear the dust.