Synopses & Reviews
What goes on in our head when we have a thought? Why do the physical events that occur inside a fistful of gelatinous tissue give rise to the world of conscious experience? In The Universe of Consciousness, Gerald Edelman and Giulio Tononi present for the first time a full-scale theory of consciousness based on direct observation of the human brain in action. Their pioneering work, presented here in an elegant style, challenges much of the conventional wisdom about consciousness. The Universe of Consciousness has enormous implications for our understanding of language, thought, emotion, and mental illness.
Synopsis
What goes on in our head when we have a thought? Why do the physical events that occur inside a fistful of gelatinous tissue give rise to the world of conscious experience?In The Universe of Consciousness, Gerald Edelman and Giulio Tononi present for the first time a full-scale theory of consciousness based on direct observation of the human brain in action. Their pioneering work, presented here in an elegant style, challenges much of the conventional wisdom about consciousness. The Universe of Consciousness has enormous implications for our understanding of language, thought, emotion, and mental illness.
About the Author
Gerald M. Edelman is director of the Neurosciences Institute and chairman of the Department of Neurobiology at the Scripps Research Institute. He received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1972. He is also the author of Bright Air, Brilliant Fire; Tobiology; and The Remembered Present.
Table of Contents
Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Preface -- Pt. I. The world knot. 1. Consciousness: philosophical paradox or scientific object? ; 2. The special problem of consciousness ; 3. Everyman's private theater: ongoing unity, endless variety -- Pt. II. Consciousness and the brain. 4. Building a picture of the brain ; 5. Consciousness and distributed neural activity ; 6. Neural activity integrated and differentiated -- Pt. III. Mechanisms of consciousness: the Darwinian perspective. 7. Selectionism ; 8. Nonrepresentational memory ; 9. Perception into memory: the remembered present -- Pt. IV. Dealing with plethora: the dynamic core hypothesis. 10. Integration and reenetry ; 11. Consciousness and complexity ; 12. Determining where the knot is tied: the dynamic core hypothesis -- Pt. V. Untangling the knot. 13. Qualia and discrimination ; 14. The conscious and the unconscious -- Pt. VI. Observer time. 15. Language and the self ; 16. Thinking ; 17. Prisoners of description -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Credits -- Index.