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books tagged “consciousness”
books tagged “consciousness”
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The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soulby Francis CrickISBN 0684801582 (0-684-80158-2)
Softcover, Simon & Schuster
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Astonishing Hypothesis: The Scientific Search for the Soul'Book summary:The Nobel Prize-winning physicist who discovered the molecular structure of DNA examines what makes humans sentient beings, offering an analysis and description of how the brain sees. [via]
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Bright Air, Brilliant Fire: On the Matter of the Mindby Gerald M. EdelmanISBN 0465007643 (0-465-00764-3)
Softcover, Perseus Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Bright Air, Brilliant Fire: On the Matter of the Mind'Book summary:We are on the verge of a revolution in neuroscience as significant as the Galilean revolution in physics or the Darwinian revolution in biology. Nobel laureate Gerald M. Edelman takes issue with the many current cognitive and behavioral approaches to the brain that leave biology out of the picture, and argues that the workings of the brain more closely resemble the living ecology of a jungle than they do the activities of a computer. Some startling conclusions emerge from these ideas: individuality is necessarily at the very center of what it means to have a mind, no creature is born value-free, and no physical theory of the universe can claim to be a "theory of everything" without including an account of how the brain gives rise to the mind. There is no greater scientific challenge than understanding the brain. Bright Air, Brilliant Fire is a book that provides a window on that understanding. [via]
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The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theoryby David J. ChalmersISBN 0195117891 (0-19-511789-1)
Softcover, Oxford Univ Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory'Book summary:What is consciousness? How do physical processes in the brain give rise to the self-aware mind and to feelings as profoundly varied as love or hate, aesthetic pleasure or spiritual yearning? These questions today are among the most hotly debated issues among scientists and philosophers, and we have seen in recent years superb volumes by such eminent figures as Francis Crick, Daniel C. Dennett, Gerald Edelman, and Roger Penrose, all firing volleys in what has come to be called the consciousness wars. Now, in The Conscious Mind, philosopher David J. Chalmers offers a cogent analysis of this heated debate as he unveils a major new theory of consciousness, one that rejects the prevailing reductionist trend of science, while offering provocative insights into the relationship between mind and brain.
Writing in a rigorous, thought-provoking style, the author takes us on a far-reaching tour through the philosophical ramifications of consciousness. Chalmers convincingly reveals how contemporary cognitive science and neurobiology have failed to explain how and why mental events emerge from physiological occurrences in the brain. He proposes instead that conscious experience must be understood in an entirely new light--as an irreducible entity (similar to such physical properties as time, mass, and space) that exists at a fundamental level and cannot be understood as the sum of its parts. And after suggesting some intriguing possibilities about the structure and laws of conscious experience, he details how his unique reinterpretation of the mind could be the focus of a new science. Throughout the book, Chalmers provides fascinating thought experiments that trenchantly illustrate his ideas. For example, in exploring the notion that consciousness could be experienced by machines as well as humans, Chalmers asks us to imagine a thinking brain in which neurons are slowly replaced by silicon chips that precisely duplicate their functions--as the neurons are replaced, will consciousness gradually fade away? The book also features thoughtful discussions of how the author's theories might be practically applied to subjects as diverse as artificial intelligence and the interpretation of quantum mechanics.
All of us have pondered the nature and meaning of consciousness. Engaging and penetrating, The Conscious Mind adds a fresh new perspective to the subject that is sure to spark debate about our understanding of the mind for years to come. [via]More editions of The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory:
Consciousness: A Very Short Introductionby Susan BlackmoreISBN 0192805851 (0-19-280585-1)
Softcover, Oxford Univ Pr
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Consciousness: An Introductionby Susan BlackmoreISBN 019515343X (0-19-515343-X)
Softcover, Oxford Univ Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Consciousness: An Introduction'Book summary:Is there a theory that explains the essence of consciousness? Or is consciousness itself just an illusion? The "last great mystery of science," consciousness was excluded from serious research for most of the last century but is now a rapidly expanding area of study for students of psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience. Recently the topic has also captured growing popular interest.
This groundbreaking book is the first volume to bring together all the major theories of consciousness studies--from those rooted in traditional Western philosophy to those coming out of neuroscience, quantum theory, and Eastern philosophy. Broadly interdisciplinary, Consciousness: An Introduction is divided into nine sections that examine such topics as how subjective experiences arise from objective brain processes, the basic neuroscience and neuropathology of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, mystical experiences and dreams, and the effects of drugs and meditation. It also discusses the nature of self, the possibility of artificial consciousness in robots, and the question of whether or not animals are conscious. Enhanced by numerous illustrations and profiles of important researchers, the book also includes self-assessment questions, further reading suggestions, and practical exercises that help bring the subject to life. [via]More editions of Consciousness: An Introduction:
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Consciousness Explainedby Daniel Dennett, Paul WeinerISBN 0316180661 (0-316-18066-1)
Softcover, Little Brown & Co
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Consciousness Explained'Book summary:Consciousness is notoriously difficult to explain. On one hand, there are facts about conscious experience--the way clarinets sound, the way lemonade tastes--that we know subjectively, from the inside. On the other hand, such facts are not readily accommodated in the objective world described by science. How, after all, could the reediness of clarinets or the tartness of lemonade be predicted in advance? Central to Daniel C. Dennett's attempt to resolve this dilemma is the "heterophenomenological" method, which treats reports of introspection nontraditionally--not as evidence to be used in explaining consciousness, but as data to be explained. Using this method, Dennett argues against the myth of the Cartesian theater--the idea that consciousness can be precisely located in space or in time. To replace the Cartesian theater, he introduces his own multiple drafts model of consciousness, in which the mind is a bubbling congeries of unsupervised parallel processing. Finally, Dennett tackles the conventional philosophical questions about consciousness, taking issue not only with the traditional answers but also with the traditional methodology by which they were reached.
Dennett's writing, while always serious, is never solemn; who would have thought that combining philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience could be such fun? Not every reader will be convinced that Dennett has succeeded in explaining consciousness; many will feel that his account fails to capture essential features of conscious experience. But none will want to deny that the attempt was well worth making. --Glenn Branch [via]
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Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brainby Antonio DamasioISBN 014303622X (0-14-303622-X)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, And the Human Brain'Book summary:In this wondrously lucid and engaging book, renowned neurologist Antonio Damasio demonstrates what many of us have long suspected: emotions are not a luxury, they are essential to rational thinking.
Descartes' Error takes the reader on an enthralling journey of scientific discovery, starting with the case of Phineas Gage--a construction foreman who in 1848 survived a freak accident in which a 3 1/2 foot iron rod passed through his head--and continuing on to Damasio's experiences with modern-day neurological patients affected by brain damage. Far from interfering with rationality, his research shows us, the absence of emotion and feeling can break down rationality and make wise decision making almost impossible.
[via]More editions of Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain:
- Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain: ISBN 0380726475 (0-380-72647-5)
Softcover, Harpercollins - Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain: ISBN 0399138943 (0-399-13894-3)
Hardcover, Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated - Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, And the Human Brain: ISBN 014303622X (0-14-303622-X)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA
- Descartes' Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain: ISBN 0380726475 (0-380-72647-5)
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Dmt: The Spirit Molecule A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experienceby Rick StrassmanISBN 0892819278 (0-89281-927-8)
Softcover, Park Street Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Dmt: The Spirit Molecule A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experience'Book summary:A clinical psychiatrist explores the effects of DMT, one of the most powerful psychedelics known.
" A behind-the-scenes look at the cutting edge of psychedelic research.
" Provides a unique scientific explanation for the phenomenon of alien abduction experiences.
From 1990 to 1995 Dr. Rick Strassman conducted U.S. Government-approved and funded clinical research at the University of New Mexico in which he injected sixty volunteers with DMT, one of the most powerful psychedelics known. His detailed account of those sessions is an extraordinarily riveting inquiry into the nature of the human mind and the therapeutic potential of psychedelics. DMT, a plant-derived chemical found in the psychedelic Amazon brew, ayahuasca, is also manufactured by the human brain. In Strassman's volunteers, it consistently produced near-death and mystical experiences. Many reported convincing encounters with intelligent nonhuman presences, aliens, angels, and spirits. Nearly all felt that the sessions were among the most profound experiences of their lives.
Strassman's research connects DMT with the pineal gland, considered by Hindus to be the site of the seventh chakra and by Rene Descartes to be the seat of the soul. DMT: The Spirit Molecule makes the bold case that DMT, naturally released by the pineal gland, facilitates the soul's movement in and out of the body and is an integral part of the birth and death experiences, as well as the highest states of meditation and even sexual transcendence. Strassman also believes that "alien abduction experiences" are brought on by accidental releases of DMT. If used wisely, DMT could trigger a period of remarkable progress in the scientific exploration of the most mystical regions of the human mind and soul. [via]
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The Doors of Perception and Heaven and Hellby Aldous HuxleyISBN 1417628596 (1-4176-2859-6)
Hardcover, Bt Bound
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Doors of Perception & Heaven And Hell'Book summary:Sometimes a writer has to revisit the classics, and here we find that "gonzo journalism"--gutsy first-person accounts wherein the author is part of the story--didn't originate with Hunter S. Thompson or Tom Wolfe. Aldous Huxley took some mescaline and wrote about it some 10 or 12 years earlier than those others. The book he came up with is part bemused essay and part mystical treatise--"suchness" is everywhere to be found while under the influence. This is a good example of essay writing, journal keeping, and the value of controversy--always--in one's work. [via]
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The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physicsby Roger Penrose, Martin GardnerISBN 0192861980 (0-19-286198-0)
Softcover, Oxford Univ Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics'Book summary:Some love it, some hate it, but The Emperor's New Mind, physicist Roger Penrose's 1989 treatise attacking the foundations of strong artificial intelligence, is crucial for anyone interested in the history of thinking about AI and consciousness. Part survey of modern physics, part exploration of the philosophy of mind, the book is not for casual readers--though it's not overly technical, it rarely pauses to let the reader catch a breath. The overview of relativity and quantum theory, written by a master, is priceless and uncontroversial. The exploration of consciousness and AI, though, is generally considered as resting on shakier ground.
Penrose claims that there is an intimate, perhaps unknowable relation between quantum effects and our thinking, and ultimately derives his anti-AI stance from his proposition that some, if not all, of our thinking is non-algorithmic. Of course, these days we believe that there are other avenues to AI than traditional algorithmic programming; while he has been accused of setting up straw robots to knock down, this accusation is unfair. Little was then known about the power of neural networks and behavior-based robotics to simulate (and, some would say, produce) intelligent problem-solving behavior. Whether these tools will lead to strong AI is ultimately a question of belief, not proof, and The Emperor's New Mind offers powerful arguments useful to believer and nonbeliever alike. --Rob Lightner [via]
More editions of The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics:
- The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics: ISBN 0140145346 (0-14-014534-6)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA - The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics: ISBN 0198519737 (0-19-851973-7)
Hardcover, Oxford Univ Pr - The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics: ISBN 0192861980 (0-19-286198-0)
Softcover, Oxford Univ Pr
- The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics: ISBN 0140145346 (0-14-014534-6)
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Evolution of Consciousness: Of Darwin, Freud, and Cranial Fire The Origins of the Way We Thinkby Robert Evan OrnsteinISBN 0135875692 (0-13-587569-2)
Hardcover, Simon & Schuster
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The Evolution of Consciousness: The Origins of the Way We Thinkby Robert OrnsteinISBN 0671792245 (0-671-79224-5)
Softcover, Simon & Schuster
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Evolution of Consciousness: The Origins of the Way We Think'Book summary:Based on his life's research, the author of the bestseller the psychology of consciousness provides a provocative look at the evolution of the mind. He explains that we are not rational but adaptive, and that it is darwin, not freud, who is the central scientist of the brain. Photographs and line art throughout [via]
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The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousnessby Antonio R. DamasioISBN 0156010755 (0-15-601075-5)
Softcover, Harcourt
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Feeling of What Happens: Body and Emotion in the Making of Consciousness'Book summary:As you read this, at some level you're aware that you're reading, thanks to a standard human feature commonly referred to as consciousness. What is it--a spiritual phenomenon, an evolutionary tool, a neurological side effect? The best scientists love to tackle big, meaningful questions like this, and neuroscientist Antonio Damasio jumps right in with The Feeling of What Happens, a poetic examination of interior life through lenses of research, medical cases, philosophical analysis, and unashamed introspection. Damasio's perspective is, fortunately, becoming increasingly common in the scientific community; despite all the protestations of old-guard behaviorists, subjective consciousness is a plain fact to most of us and the demand for new methods of inquiry is finally being met.
These new methods are not without rigor, though. Damasio and his colleagues examine patients with disruptions and interruptions in consciousness and take deep insights from these tragic lives while offering greater comfort and meaning to the sufferers. His thesis, that our sense of self arises from our need to map relations between self and others, is firmly rooted in medical and evolutionary research but stands up well to self-examination. His examples from the weird world of neurology are unsettling yet deeply humanizing--real people with serious problems spring to life in the pages, but they are never reduced to their deficits. The Feeling of What Happens captures the spirit of discovery as it plunges deeper than ever into the darkest waters yet. --Rob Lightner [via]
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Freedom Evolvesby Daniel DennettISBN 0142003840 (0-14-200384-0)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Freedom Evolves'Book summary:Daniel C. Dennett is a brilliant polemicist, famous for challenging unexamined orthodoxies. Over the last thirty years, he has played a major role in expanding our understanding of consciousness, developmental psychology, and evolutionary theory. And with such groundbreaking, critically acclaimed books as Consciousness Explained and Darwin's Dangerous Idea (a National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize finalist), he has reached a huge general and professional audience.
In this new book, Dennett shows that evolution is the key to resolving the ancient problems of moral and political freedom. Like the planet's atmosphere on which life depends, the conditions on which our freedom depends had to evolve, and like the atmosphere, they continue to evolve-and could be extinguished. According to Dennett, biology provides the perspective from which we can distinguish the varieties of freedom that matter. Throughout the history of life on this planet, an interacting web and internal and external conditions have provided the frameworks for the design of agents that are more free than their parts-from the unwitting gropings of the simplest life forms to the more informed activities of animals to the moral dilemmas that confront human beings living in societies.
As in his previous books, Dennett weaves a richly detailed narrative enlivened by analogies as entertaining as they are challenging. Here is the story of how we came to be different from all other creatures, how our early ancestors mindlessly created human culture, and then, how culture gave us our minds, our visions, our moral problems-in a nutshell, our freedom. [via] 
From Science To God: A Physicist's Journey Into The Mystery Of Consciousnessby Peter RussellISBN 1577314948 (1-57731-494-8)
Softcover, New World Library
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› Find signed collectible books: 'From Science To God: A Physicist's Journey Into The Mystery Of Consciousness'More editions of From Science To God: A Physicist's Journey Into The Mystery Of Consciousness:
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From Science to God: The Mystery of Consciousness and the Meaning of Lightby Peter RussellISBN 1928586031 (1-928586-03-1)
Softcover, Lightning Source Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'From Science to God: The Mystery of Consciousness and the Meaning of Light'Book summary:The Mystery of Consciousness and the Meaning of Light is the story of Peter Russells lifelong exploration into the nature of consciousness.
Blending physics, psychology, and philosophy, he leads us to a new worldview in which consciousness is as fundamental to the cosmos as space, time, and matter. He shows how all the ingredients for this worldview are in place; nothing new needs to be discovered. We have only to put the pieces together and explore the new picture of reality that emerges.
Integrating a deep knowledge of science with his own experiences of meditation, Russell arrives at a universe similar to that described by many mystics-one in which science and spirit no longer conflict. The bridge between them, he shows, is light. From Science to God invites us to cross that bridge to a radically different, and ultimately healing, view of ourselves and the universeone in which God takes on new meaning, and spiritual practice a deeper significance. [via]
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Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braidby Douglas R. HofstadterISBN 0465026567 (0-465-02656-7)
Softcover, Basic Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid'Book summary:As stated in the Scientific American, "Every few decades an unknown author brings out a boof of such depth, clarity range, wit beauty and originality that it is recognized at once as a major literary event - this is such a work." [via]
More editions of Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid:
- Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid: ISBN 0394745027 (0-394-74502-7)
Softcover, Vintage Books - Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid: ISBN 0394756827 (0-394-75682-7)
Softcover, Knopf Publishing Group - Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid: ISBN 0465026850 (0-465-02685-0)
Hardcover, Perseus Books Group - Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid: ISBN 0465026567 (0-465-02656-7)
Softcover, Basic Books
- Godel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid: ISBN 0394745027 (0-394-74502-7)
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Guided Meditation: Creative Visualization for Generating Energy and Managing Stressby Gary Michael Smith, Robert Edward FussellISBN 0965838048 (0-9658380-4-8)
Hardcover, Chatgris Press
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Guided Meditation: Creative Visualization for Generating Energy and Managing Stress'Book summary:1997 W.W Norton & Company jumbo trade paperback, 7th printing. ISBN:9780965838047. Explains why we feel the way we do-control of emotions, thoughts and limbs in the control center also called the brain. [via]
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How the Mind Worksby Steven PinkerISBN 0393318486 (0-393-31848-6)
Softcover, W W Norton & Co Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'How the Mind Works'Book summary:Why do fools fall in love? Why does a man's annual salary, on average, increase $600 with each inch of his height? When a crack dealer guns down a rival, how is he just like Alexander Hamilton, whose face is on the ten-dollar bill? How do optical illusions function as windows on the human soul? Cheerful, cheeky, occasionally outrageous MIT psychologist Steven Pinker answers all of the above and more in his marvelously fun, awesomely informative survey of modern brain science. Pinker argues that Darwin plus canny computer programs are the key to understanding ourselves--but he also throws in apt references to Star Trek, Star Wars, The Far Side, history, literature, W. C. Fields, Mozart, Marilyn Monroe, surrealism, experimental psychology, and Moulay Ismail the Bloodthirsty and his 888 children. If How the Mind Works were a rock show, tickets would be scalped for $100. This book deserved its spot as Number One on bestseller lists. It belongs on a short shelf alongside such classics as Darwin's Dangerous Idea: Evolution and the Meanings of Life, by Daniel C. Dennett, and The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology, by Robert Wright. Pinker's startling ideas pop out as dramatically as those hidden pictures in a Magic Eye 3D stereogram poster, which he also explains in brilliantly lucid prose. [via]
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Kinds of Minds: Toward an Understanding of Consciousnessby Daniel DennettISBN 0465073506 (0-465-07350-6)
Hardcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Kinds of Minds: Toward an Understanding of Consciousness'Book summary:In Consciousness Explained, Daniel Dennett embarks on the audacious task of explaining human consciousness. He sets his sights even higher for Kinds of Minds, attempting to provide a more general explanation of consciousness. But don't be put off: the book is short, easy to read, and makes a good introduction to Dennett's richly interdisciplinary oeuvre. While beginners will appreciate Dennett's appeals to intuitive moral considerations to emphasize the importance of investigating consciousness, there is much in the book to hold the attention of readers already familiar with his previous work.
At the beginning of Kinds of Minds Dennett asks, "What kinds of minds are there? And how do we know?" These two questions--the first ontological, the second epistemological--set the agenda for the book. Intuitions untutored by theory are not capable of answering these questions, Dennett argues, making it necessary to pursue insight from the evolutionary point of view. Accordingly, subsequent chapters are devoted to phylogenetic speculations about agency and intentionality, sensitivity and sentience, and perception and behavior. Particularly charming is the series of squiggly amoebas--the Darwinian, Skinnerian, Popperian, and Gregorian creatures--that illustrates the hierarchy of cognitive power. In the final chapter, Dennett returns to the original two questions, ending not with their answers, but, he hopes, with "better versions of the questions themselves." --Glenn Branch [via]
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Kinds of Minds: Towards an Understanding of Consciousnessby Daniel Clement DennettISBN 0465073514 (0-465-07351-4)
Softcover, Perseus Books Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Kinds of Minds: Towards an Understanding of Consciousness'Book summary:In Consciousness Explained, Daniel Dennett embarks on the audacious task of explaining human consciousness. He sets his sights even higher for Kinds of Minds, attempting to provide a more general explanation of consciousness. But don't be put off: the book is short, easy to read, and makes a good introduction to Dennett's richly interdisciplinary oeuvre. While beginners will appreciate Dennett's appeals to intuitive moral considerations to emphasize the importance of investigating consciousness, there is much in the book to hold the attention of readers already familiar with his previous work.
At the beginning of Kinds of Minds Dennett asks, "What kinds of minds are there? And how do we know?" These two questions--the first ontological, the second epistemological--set the agenda for the book. Intuitions untutored by theory are not capable of answering these questions, Dennett argues, making it necessary to pursue insight from the evolutionary point of view. Accordingly, subsequent chapters are devoted to phylogenetic speculations about agency and intentionality, sensitivity and sentience, and perception and behavior. Particularly charming is the series of squiggly amoebas--the Darwinian, Skinnerian, Popperian, and Gregorian creatures--that illustrates the hierarchy of cognitive power. In the final chapter, Dennett returns to the original two questions, ending not with their answers, but, he hopes, with "better versions of the questions themselves." --Glenn Branch [via]
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The Large, the Small and the Human Mindby Roger Penrose, Abner Shimony, Nancy Cartwright, Stephen Hawking, M. S. Longair, Malcolm LongairISBN 0521655382 (0-521-65538-2)
Softcover, Cambridge Univ Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Large, the Small and the Human Mind'Book summary:Will quantum physics let us reduce consciousness to computation? Roger Penrose says "no" with great force and eloquence in The Large, The Small, and the Human Mind. Originally prepared as a series of three lectures in Cambridge's Tanner Series on Human Values, the material is both meticulously thought out and informally presented, including many illustrations by Penrose and others. For publication, the author sought out rebuttals and commentary by philosophers Abner Shimony and Nancy Cartwright as well as his own colleague and occasional rival, the well-known theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, then reserves the last word for himself, as is his prerogative. The result is a sharp but polite argument on the nature of thinking and its reducibility; readers familiar with The Emperor's New Mind and Shadow of the Mind will find the arguments from quantum physics fleshed out in greater detail but also attacked with good-natured aplomb. Those who missed out on Penrose's older forays into this territory (or are somehow disinterested in the nature of thought) will find this an excellent, if broad, overview of the modern conception of physics from subatomic shenanigans to the radius of the universe as well as a stimulating debate among several great modern thinkers. Despite Penrose's certainty that our brains can't be modelled by computational systems--and hence that strong artificial intelligence will remain in science fiction--the argument continues, and will continue for some time. The Large, The Small, and the Human Mind crystallises that debate for readers who want to keep up with the latest thinking about thinking. --Rob Lightner [via]
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The Large, the Small and the Human Mindby Abner Shimony, Nancy Cartwright, Stephen W. Hawking, Roger Penrose, Malcolm S. LongairISBN 0521785723 (0-521-78572-3)
Softcover, Cambridge Univ Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Large, the Small and the Human Mind'Book summary:Will quantum physics let us reduce consciousness to computation? Roger Penrose says "no" with great force and eloquence in The Large, The Small, and the Human Mind. Originally prepared as a series of three lectures in Cambridge's Tanner Series on Human Values, the material is both meticulously thought out and informally presented, including many illustrations by Penrose and others. For publication, the author sought out rebuttals and commentary by philosophers Abner Shimony and Nancy Cartwright as well as his own colleague and occasional rival, the well-known theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, then reserves the last word for himself, as is his prerogative. The result is a sharp but polite argument on the nature of thinking and its reducibility; readers familiar with The Emperor's New Mind and Shadow of the Mind will find the arguments from quantum physics fleshed out in greater detail but also attacked with good-natured aplomb. Those who missed out on Penrose's older forays into this territory (or are somehow disinterested in the nature of thought) will find this an excellent, if broad, overview of the modern conception of physics from subatomic shenanigans to the radius of the universe as well as a stimulating debate among several great modern thinkers. Despite Penrose's certainty that our brains can't be modelled by computational systems--and hence that strong artificial intelligence will remain in science fiction--the argument continues, and will continue for some time. The Large, The Small, and the Human Mind crystallises that debate for readers who want to keep up with the latest thinking about thinking. --Rob Lightner [via]
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Matter and Consciousness: A Contemporary Introduction to the Philosophy of Mindby Paul M. ChurchlandISBN 0262530740 (0-262-53074-0)
Softcover, Mit Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Matter and Consciousness: A Contemporary Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind'Book summary:In Matter and Consciousness, Paul Churchland clearly presents the advantages and disadvantages of such difficult issues in philosophy of mind as behaviorism, reductive materialism, functionalism, and eliminative materialism. This new edition incorporates the striking developments that have taken place in neuroscience, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence and notes their expanding relevance to philosophical issues. Churchland organizes and clarifies the new theoretical and experimental results of the natural sciences for a wider philosophical audience, observing that this research bears directly on questions concerning the basic elements of cognitive activity and their implementation in real physical systems. (How is it, he asks, that living creatures perform some cognitive tasks so swiftly and easily, where computers do them only badly or not at all?) Most significant for philosophy, Churchland asserts, is the support these results tend to give to the reductive and the eliminative versions of materialism. A Bradford Book. [via]
More editions of Matter and Consciousness: A Contemporary Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind:
- Matter and Consciousness: A Contemporary Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind: ISBN 0262530503 (0-262-53050-3)
Softcover, MIT Press - Matter and Consciousness: A Contemporary Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind: ISBN 0262031035 (0-262-03103-5)
Hardcover, MIT Press - Matter and Consciousness: A Contemporary Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind: ISBN 0262031353 (0-262-03135-3)
Hardcover, MIT Press - Matter and Consciousness: A Contemporary Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind: ISBN 0262530740 (0-262-53074-0)
Softcover, Mit Pr
- Matter and Consciousness: A Contemporary Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind: ISBN 0262530503 (0-262-53050-3)
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Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Patternby Douglas R. HofstadterISBN 0465045669 (0-465-04566-9)
Softcover, Perseus Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Pattern'Book summary:An interlocked collection of literary, scientific, and artistic studies. [via]
More editions of Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Pattern:
- Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Pattern: ISBN 0465045405 (0-465-04540-5)
Hardcover, Perseus Books Group - Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Pattern: ISBN 0553342797 (0-553-34279-7)
Softcover, Bantam Dell Pub Group - Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Pattern: ISBN 0553346830 (0-553-34683-0)
Softcover, Bantam Dell Pub Group - Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Pattern: ISBN 0465045669 (0-465-04566-9)
Softcover, Perseus Books
- Metamagical Themas: Questing for the Essence of Mind and Pattern: ISBN 0465045405 (0-465-04540-5)
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The Mind's Iby Hofstadter, Douglas R. & Dennett, Daniel C., Daniel C. DennettISBN 0553345842 (0-553-34584-2)
Softcover, Bantam Dell Pub Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Mind's I'Book summary:Ever wondered who you are? Who you really are? This collection of writings and reflections by some of today's most notable thinkers is designed to enliven this most central, and most baffling, question in the philosophy of mind. In some ways, the questions posed and bantered about in this book are at the heart of all philosophical reasoning. They are the ultimate questions about the self. The Mind's I contains an astonishing variety of approaches to answering the question, "Who am I?" Between the covers of this book one encounters the literary erudition of Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges alongside the analytic rigor of John Searle. There are sophisticated metaphorical pieces (such as "The Princess Ineffabelle" by Polish philosopher and writer Stanislaw Lem), intriguing dialogues (like Raymond Smullyan's "Is God a Taoist?"), and serious but engaging philosophical essays from a host of thinkers (see Thomas Nagel's "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?").
Editors Hofstadter and Dennett--leading lights in the study of cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and the philosophy of mind--follow each selection with a short reflection designed to elaborate on their main themes. The Mind's I admirably broadens their fields to a more general audience. The book's essays are grouped into six categories, each successively raising the philosophical stakes by introducing new levels of complexity. Ultimately, one confronts some of the thorniest questions in modern philosophy here, such as the nature of free will, our place in the metaphysical world, and the possibility of genuine artificial intelligence. The book closes with a playful and perplexing piece by Robert Nozick, an adequate summation to The Mind's I. He writes, "Perhaps God has not decided yet whether he has created, in this world, a fictional world or a real one.... Which decision do you hope for?" --Eric de Place [via]
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The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soulby Daniel C. Dennett, Douglas R. HofstadterISBN 0465030912 (0-465-03091-2)
Softcover, Perseus Books Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul'Book summary:Ever wondered who you are? Who you really are? This collection of writings and reflections by some of today's most notable thinkers is designed to enliven this most central, and most baffling, question in the philosophy of mind. In some ways, the questions posed and bantered about in this book are at the heart of all philosophical reasoning. They are the ultimate questions about the self. The Mind's I contains an astonishing variety of approaches to answering the question, "Who am I?" Between the covers of this book one encounters the literary erudition of Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges alongside the analytic rigor of John Searle. There are sophisticated metaphorical pieces (such as "The Princess Ineffabelle" by Polish philosopher and writer Stanislaw Lem), intriguing dialogues (like Raymond Smullyan's "Is God a Taoist?"), and serious but engaging philosophical essays from a host of thinkers (see Thomas Nagel's "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?").
Editors Hofstadter and Dennett--leading lights in the study of cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and the philosophy of mind--follow each selection with a short reflection designed to elaborate on their main themes. The Mind's I admirably broadens their fields to a more general audience. The book's essays are grouped into six categories, each successively raising the philosophical stakes by introducing new levels of complexity. Ultimately, one confronts some of the thorniest questions in modern philosophy here, such as the nature of free will, our place in the metaphysical world, and the possibility of genuine artificial intelligence. The book closes with a playful and perplexing piece by Robert Nozick, an adequate summation to The Mind's I. He writes, "Perhaps God has not decided yet whether he has created, in this world, a fictional world or a real one.... Which decision do you hope for?" --Eric de Place [via]
More editions of The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul:
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The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soulby Douglas R. HofstadterISBN 046504624X (0-465-04624-X)
Hardcover, Perseus Books Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul'Book summary:Ever wondered who you are? Who you really are? This collection of writings and reflections by some of today's most notable thinkers is designed to enliven this most central, and most baffling, question in the philosophy of mind. In some ways, the questions posed and bantered about in this book are at the heart of all philosophical reasoning. They are the ultimate questions about the self. The Mind's I contains an astonishing variety of approaches to answering the question, "Who am I?" Between the covers of this book one encounters the literary erudition of Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges alongside the analytic rigor of John Searle. There are sophisticated metaphorical pieces (such as "The Princess Ineffabelle" by Polish philosopher and writer Stanislaw Lem), intriguing dialogues (like Raymond Smullyan's "Is God a Taoist?"), and serious but engaging philosophical essays from a host of thinkers (see Thomas Nagel's "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?").
Editors Hofstadter and Dennett--leading lights in the study of cognitive science, artificial intelligence, and the philosophy of mind--follow each selection with a short reflection designed to elaborate on their main themes. The Mind's I admirably broadens their fields to a more general audience. The book's essays are grouped into six categories, each successively raising the philosophical stakes by introducing new levels of complexity. Ultimately, one confronts some of the thorniest questions in modern philosophy here, such as the nature of free will, our place in the metaphysical world, and the possibility of genuine artificial intelligence. The book closes with a playful and perplexing piece by Robert Nozick, an adequate summation to The Mind's I. He writes, "Perhaps God has not decided yet whether he has created, in this world, a fictional world or a real one.... Which decision do you hope for?" --Eric de Place [via]
More editions of The Mind's I: Fantasies and Reflections on Self and Soul:
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The Mystery of Consciousnessby John R. SearleISBN 0940322064 (0-940322-06-4)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Mystery of Consciousness'Book summary:It has long been one of the most fundamental problems of philosophy, and it is now, John Searle writes, "the most important problem in the biological sciences": What is consciousness? Is my inner awareness of myself something separate from my body?
In what began as a series of essays in The New York Review of Books, John Searle evaluates the positions on consciousness of such well-known scientists and philosophers as Francis Crick, Gerald Edelman, Roger Penrose, Daniel Dennett, David Chalmers, and Israel Rosenfield. He challenges claims that the mind works like a computer, and that brain functions can be reproduced by computer programs. With a sharp eye for confusion and contradiction, he points out which avenues of current research are most likely to come up with a biological examination of how conscious states are caused by the brain.
Only when we understand how the brain works will we solve the mystery of consciousness, and only then will we begin to understand issues ranging from artificial intelligence to our very nature as human beings. [via]More editions of The Mystery of Consciousness:
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The Nature of Consciousness: Philosophical Debatesby Owen Flanagan, Guven Guzeldere, Ned Joel BlockISBN 0262522101 (0-262-52210-1)
Softcover, Mit Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Nature of Consciousness: Philosophical Debates'Book summary:Almost everyone agrees that we possess consciousness, but as this book demonstrates, that's where the agreement ends. What can we say about the mind without fear of contradiction? Not much, and that's how the study of consciousness stands out from other scientific and philosophical endeavors--the field's great minds argue cogently with little common ground, and nothing is safe from questioning.
For the adventurous and thoughtful reader, this is a paradise on the frontiers of knowledge. The Nature of Consciousness presumes a basic familiarity with science and philosophy, as well as a willingness to think and read carefully. With articles by such bright lights as Daniel Dennett, John Searle, Patricia Smith Churchland, and even the great William James, it provides both a comprehensive overview of the field and in-depth analyses of such issues as the mind-body problem and how we can study a phenomenon that may not be observed directly. It is best read as an update on Western scientific and philosophical replies to one of the great questions: Who are we? Given the universal appeal of such a question, the reader will undoubtedly find much within to challenge, puzzle, frustrate, and delight. --Rob Lightner [via]
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No Boundaryby Ken WilberISBN 1570627436 (1-57062-743-6)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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No Boundary : Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growthby Ken WilberISBN 0394748816 (0-394-74881-6)
Softcover, Shambhala Publications, Incorporated
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› Find signed collectible books: 'No Boundary : Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growth'Book summary:A new, easy-to-grasp map of human consciousness against which the various therapies from both Western and Eastern sources are introduced. Designed to help individuals understand the practice of each therapy. [via]
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Origin of Conciousnessby JaynesISBN 0802023061 (0-8020-2306-1)
Hardcover, Univ of Toronto Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Origin of Conciousness'Book summary:At the heart of this book is the revolutionary idea that human consciousness did not begin far back in animal evolution. Rather, Jaynes presents consciousness as a learned process that evolved from an earlier hallucinatory mentality only three thousand years ago. The implications extend into every aspect if human life. [via]
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The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mindby Julian JaynesISBN 0618057072 (0-618-05707-2)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind'Book summary:At the heart of this book is the revolutionary idea that human consciousness did not begin far back in animal evolution. Rather, Jaynes presents consciousness as a learned process that evolved from an earlier hallucinatory mentality only three thousand years ago. The implications extend into every aspect if human life. [via]
More editions of The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind:
- The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind: ISBN 0395563526 (0-395-56352-6)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin - The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind: ISBN 0395207290 (0-395-20729-0)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin - The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind: ISBN 0395564727 (0-395-56472-7)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin - The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind: ISBN 0618057072 (0-618-05707-2)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin
- The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind: ISBN 0395563526 (0-395-56352-6)
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Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mindby Sandra Blakeslee, V. S. RamachandranISBN 0688172172 (0-688-17217-2)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind'Book summary:What would you say about a woman who, despite stroke-induced paralysis crippling the entire left side of her body, insists that she is whole and strong--who even sees her left hand reach out to grasp objects? Freud called it "denial"; neurologists call it "anosognosia." However it may be labeled, this phenomenon and others like it allow us peeks into other mental worlds and afford us considerable insight into our own.
The writings of Oliver Sacks and others have shown us that we can learn much about ourselves by looking closely at the deficits shown by people with neurological problems. V.S. Ramachandran has seen countless patients suffering from anosognosia, phantom limb pain, blindsight, and other disorders, and he brings a remarkable mixture of clinical intuition and research savvy to bear on their problems. He is one of the few scientists who are able and willing to explore the personal, subjective ramifications of his work; he rehumanizes an often too-sterile field and captures the spirit of wonder so essential for true discovery. Phantoms in the Brain is equal parts medical mystery, scientific adventure, and philosophical speculation; Ramachandran's writing is smart, caring, and very, very funny.
Whether you're curious about the workings of the brain, interested in alternatives to expensive, high-tech science (much of Ramachandran's research is done with materials found around the home), or simply want a fresh perspective on the nature of human consciousness, you'll find satisfaction with Phantoms in the Brain. --Rob Lightner [via]
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Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mindby V. S. Ramachandran, Sandra BlakesleeISBN 0688152473 (0-688-15247-3)
Hardcover, HarperCollins Publishers
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The Psychology of Consciousnessby Robert Evans OrnsteinISBN 0140195203 (0-14-019520-3)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Psychology of Consciousness'Book summary:This is an exploration of the creative and rational aspects of human behaviour. In this revised edition, Robert Ornstein re-examines what is known about consciousness and answers this question through a consideration of intuition and reason. [via]
More editions of The Psychology of Consciousness:
- The Psychology of Consciousness: ISBN 0140226214 (0-14-022621-4)
Softcover, Penguin Books - The Psychology of Consciousness: ISBN 0155730827 (0-15-573082-7)
Softcover, Harcourt College Pub - The Psychology of Consciousness: ISBN 0716707977 (0-7167-0797-7)
Softcover, W. H. Freeman - The Psychology of Consciousness: ISBN 0140216790 (0-14-021679-0)
Hardcover, Penguin Books - The Psychology of Consciousness: ISBN 0670581984 (0-670-58198-4)
Hardcover, W. H. Freeman - The Psychology of Consciousness: ISBN 0140195203 (0-14-019520-3)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA
- The Psychology of Consciousness: ISBN 0140226214 (0-14-022621-4)
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The Quest for Consciousness: A Neurobiological Approachby Christof KochISBN 0974707708 (0-9747077-0-8)
Hardcover, Roberts & Co
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Quest for Consciousness: A Neurobiological Approach'Book summary:Consciousness is one of sciences last great unsolved mysteries. How can the salty taste and crunchy texture of potato chips, the unmistakable smell of dogs after they have been in the rain, or the exhilarating feeling of hanging on tiny fingerholds many feet above the last secure foothold on a cliff, emerge from networks of neurons and their associated synaptic and molecular processes? In The Quest for Consciousness, Caltech neuroscientist Christof Koch explores the biological basis of the subjective mind in animals and people. He outlines a framework that he and Francis Crick (of the "double helix") have constructed to come to grips with the ancient mind-body problem. At the heart of their framework is a sustained, empirical approach to discovering and characterizing the neuronal correlates of consciousness the NCC the subtle, flickering patterns of brain activity that underlie each and every conscious experience. [via]
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Shadows of the Mind: A Search for the Missing Science of Consciousnessby Roger PenroseISBN 0195106466 (0-19-510646-6)
Softcover, Oxford Univ Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Shadows of the Mind: A Search for the Missing Science of Consciousness'Book summary:A New York Times bestseller when it appeared in 1989, Roger Penrose's The Emperor's New Mind was universally hailed as a marvelous survey of modern physics as well as a brilliant reflection on the human mind, offering a new perspective on the scientific landscape and a visionary glimpse of the possible future of science. Now, in Shadows of the Mind, Penrose offers another exhilarating look at modern science as he mounts an even more powerful attack on artificial intelligence. But perhaps more important, in this volume he points the way to a new science, one that may eventually explain the physical basis of the human mind.
Penrose contends that some aspects of the human mind lie beyond computation. This is not a religious argument (that the mind is something other than physical) nor is it based on the brain's vast complexity (the weather is immensely complex, says Penrose, but it is still a computable thing, at least in theory). Instead, he provides powerful arguments to support his conclusion that there is something in the conscious activity of the brain that transcends computation--and will find no explanation in terms of present-day science. To illuminate what he believes this "something" might be, and to suggest where a new physics must proceed so that we may understand it, Penrose cuts a wide swathe through modern science, providing penetrating looks at everything from Turing machines (computers programmed from artificial intelligence) to the implications of Godel's theorem maintaining that conscious thinking must indeed involve ingredients that cannot adequately be stimulated by mere computation. Of particular interest is Penrose's extensive examination of quantum mechanics, which introduces some new ideas that differ markedly from those advanced in The Emperor's New Mind, especially concerning the mysterious interface where classical and quantum physics meet. But perhaps the most interesting wrinkle in Shadows of the Mind is Penrose's excursion into microbiology, where he examines cytoskeletons and microtubules, minute substructures lying deep within the brain's neurons. (He argues that microtubules--not neurons--may indeed be the basic units of the brain, which, if nothing else, would dramatically increase the brain's computational power.) Furthermore, he contends that in consciousness some kind of global quantum state must take place across large areas of the brain, and that it within microtubules that these collective quantum effects are most likely to reside.
For physics to accommodate something that is as foreign to our current physical picture as is the phenomenon of consciousness, we must expect a profound change--one that alters the very underpinnings of our philosophical viewpoint as to the nature of reality. Shadows of the Mind provides an illuminating look at where these profound changes may take place and what our future understanding of the world may be. [via]More editions of Shadows of the Mind: A Search for the Missing Science of Consciousness:
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Sociable Godby Ken WilberISBN 0394726928 (0-394-72692-8)
Softcover, Shambhala Publications, Incorporated
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sociable God'Book summary:In one of the first attempts to bring an integral dimension to sociology, Ken Wilber introduces a system of reliable methods by which to make testable judgments of the authenticity of any religious movement. A Sociable God is a concise work based on Wilber's "spectrum of consciousness" theory, which views individual and cultural development as an evolutionary continuum. Here he focuses primarily on worldviews (archaic, magic, mythic, mental, psychic, subtle, causal, nondual) and evaluates various cultural and religious movements on a scale ranging from egocentric to ethnocentric to worldcentric to Kosmic. By using this integral view, Wilber hopes, society would be able to discriminate between dangerous cults and authentic spiritual paths. In addition, he points out why these distinctions are crucial in understanding spiritual experiences and altered states of consciousness.
In a lengthy new introduction, the author brings the reader up to date on his latest integral thinking and concludes that, for the succinct and elegant way it argues for a sociology of depth, A Sociable God remains a clarion call for a greater sociology. [via]
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A Sociable God: Toward a New Understanding of Religionby Ken WilberISBN 1590302249 (1-59030-224-9)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Sociable God: Toward a New Understanding of Religion'Book summary:In one of the first attempts to bring an integral dimension to sociology, Ken Wilber introduces a system of reliable methods by which to make testable judgments of the authenticity of any religious movement. A Sociable God is a concise work based on Wilber's "spectrum of consciousness" theory, which views individual and cultural development as an evolutionary continuum. Here he focuses primarily on worldviews (archaic, magic, mythic, mental, psychic, subtle, causal, nondual) and evaluates various cultural and religious movements on a scale ranging from egocentric to ethnocentric to worldcentric to Kosmic. By using this integral view, Wilber hopes, society would be able to discriminate between dangerous cults and authentic spiritual paths. In addition, he points out why these distinctions are crucial in understanding spiritual experiences and altered states of consciousness.
In a lengthy new introduction, the author brings the reader up to date on his latest integral thinking and concludes that, for the succinct and elegant way it argues for a sociology of depth, A Sociable God remains a clarion call for a greater sociology. [via]More editions of A Sociable God: Toward a New Understanding of Religion:
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The Society of Mindby Marvin MinskyISBN 0671657135 (0-671-65713-5)
Softcover, Touchstone Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Society of Mind'Book summary:For some artificial intelligence researchers, Minsky's book is too far removed from hard science to be useful. For others, the high-level approach of The Society of Mind makes it a gold mine of ideas waiting to be implemented. The author, one of the undisputed fathers of the discipline of AI, sets out to provide an abstract model of how the human mind really works. His thesis is that our minds consist of a huge aggregation of tiny mini-minds or agents that have evolved to perform highly specific tasks. Most of these agents lack the attributes we think of as intelligence and are severely limited in their ability to intercommunicate. Yet rational thought, feeling, and purposeful action result from the interaction of these basic components. Minsky's theory does not suggest a specific implementation for building intelligent machines. Still, this book may prove to be one of the most influential for the future of AI. [via]
Stalking the Wild Pendulumby BentovISBN 0553207687 (0-553-20768-7)
Softcover, Bantam Books
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Stalking the Wild Pendulum: On the Mechanics of Consciousnessby Itzhak BentovISBN 0892812028 (0-89281-202-8)
Softcover, Destiny Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Stalking the Wild Pendulum: On the Mechanics of Consciousness'Book summary:In his exciting and original view of the universe, Itzhak Bentov has provided a new perspective on human consciousness and its limitless possibilities. Widely known and loved for his delightful humor and imagination, Bentov explains the familiar world of phenomena with perceptions that are as lucid as they are thrilling. He gives us a provocative picture of ourselves in an expanded, conscious, holistic universe.
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Steps to an Ecology of Mindby Gregory BatesonISBN 0226039056 (0-226-03905-6)
Softcover, Univ of Chicago Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Steps to an Ecology of Mind'Book summary:Gregory Bateson was a philosopher, anthropologist, photographer, naturalist, and poet, as well as the husband and collaborator of Margaret Mead. With a new foreword by his daughter Mary Katherine Bateson, this classic anthology of his major work will continue to delight and inform generations of readers.[via]
"This collection amounts to a retrospective exhibition of a working life. . . . Bateson has come to this position during a career that carried him not only into anthropology, for which he was first trained, but into psychiatry, genetics, and communication theory. . . . He . . . examines the nature of the mind, seeing it not as a nebulous something, somehow lodged somewhere in the body of each man, but as a network of interactions relating the individual with his society and his species and with the universe at large."D. W. Harding, New York Review of Books
"[Bateson's] view of the world, of science, of culture, and of man is vast and challenging. His efforts at synthesis are tantalizingly and cryptically suggestive. . . .This is a book we should all read and ponder."Roger Keesing, American Anthropologist
Gregory Bateson (1904-1980) was the author of Naven and Mind and Nature.More editions of Steps to an Ecology of Mind:
- Steps to an Ecology of Mind: ISBN 0345301781 (0-345-30178-1)
Softcover, Random House Publishing Group - Steps to an Ecology of Mind: ISBN 0345332911 (0-345-33291-1)
Softcover, Ballantine Books - Steps to an Ecology of Mind: ISBN 0226039064 (0-226-03906-4)
Hardcover, Univ of Chicago Pr - Steps to an Ecology of Mind: ISBN 0226039056 (0-226-03905-6)
Softcover, Univ of Chicago Pr
- Steps to an Ecology of Mind: ISBN 0345301781 (0-345-30178-1)
Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Collected Essays in Anthropology, Psychiatry, Evolution, and Epistemologyby Gregory BatesonISBN 0810204479 (0-8102-0447-9)
Hardcover, Chandler Pub Co
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Collected Essays in Anthropology, Psychiatry, Evolution, and Epistemology'Book summary:Gregory Bateson was a philosopher, anthropologist, photographer, naturalist, and poet, as well as the husband and collaborator of Margaret Mead. With a new foreword by his daughter Mary Katherine Bateson, this classic anthology of his major work will continue to delight and inform generations of readers.[via]
"This collection amounts to a retrospective exhibition of a working life. . . . Bateson has come to this position during a career that carried him not only into anthropology, for which he was first trained, but into psychiatry, genetics, and communication theory. . . . He . . . examines the nature of the mind, seeing it not as a nebulous something, somehow lodged somewhere in the body of each man, but as a network of interactions relating the individual with his society and his species and with the universe at large."D. W. Harding, New York Review of Books
"[Bateson's] view of the world, of science, of culture, and of man is vast and challenging. His efforts at synthesis are tantalizingly and cryptically suggestive. . . .This is a book we should all read and ponder."Roger Keesing, American AnthropologistMore editions of Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Collected Essays in Anthropology, Psychiatry, Evolution, and Epistemology:
- Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Collected Essays in Anthropology, Psychiatry, Evolution, and Epistemology: ISBN 0876689500 (0-87668-950-0)
Hardcover, Rowman & Littlefield Pub Inc - Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Collected Essays in Anthropology, Psychiatry, Evolution, and Epistemology: ISBN 0810204479 (0-8102-0447-9)
Hardcover, Chandler Pub Co
- Steps to an Ecology of Mind: Collected Essays in Anthropology, Psychiatry, Evolution, and Epistemology: ISBN 0876689500 (0-87668-950-0)
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Sweet Dreams: Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousnessby Daniel C. DennettISBN 0262541912 (0-262-54191-2)
Softcover, Mit Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sweet Dreams: Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness'Book summary:In the years since Daniel Dennett's influential Consciousness Explained was published in 1991, scientific research on consciousness has been a hotly contested battleground of rival theories -- "so rambunctious," Dennett observes, "that several people are writing books just about the tumult." With Sweet Dreams, Dennett returns to the subject for "revision and renewal" of his theory of consciousness, taking into account major empirical advances in the field since 1991 as well as recent theoretical challenges.In Consciousness Explained, Dennett proposed to replace the ubiquitous but bankrupt Cartesian Theater model (which posits a privileged place in the brain where "it all comes together" for the magic show of consciousness) with the Multiple Drafts Model. Drawing on psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and artificial intelligence, he asserted that human consciousness is essentially the mental software that reorganizes the functional architecture of the brain. In Sweet Dreams, he recasts the Multiple Drafts Model as the "fame in the brain" model, as a background against which to examine the philosophical issues that "continue to bedevil the field."With his usual clarity and brio, Dennett enlivens his arguments with a variety of vivid examples. He isolates the "Zombic Hunch" that distorts much of the theorizing of both philosophers and scientists, and defends heterophenomenology, his "third-person" approach to the science of consciousness, against persistent misinterpretations and objections. The old challenge of Frank Jackson's thought experiment about Mary the color scientist is given a new rebuttal in the form of "RoboMary," while his discussion of a famous card trick, "The Tuned Deck," is designed to show that David Chalmers's Hard Problem is probably just a figment of theorists' misexploited imagination. In the final essay, the "intrinsic" nature of "qualia" is compared with the naively imagined "intrinsic value" of a dollar in "Consciousness -- How Much is That in Real Money?"
[via]More editions of Sweet Dreams: Philosophical Obstacles to a Science of Consciousness:
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Sweet Dreams: Philosophical Obstacles To A Science Of Consciousnessby Daniel Clement DennettISBN 0262042258 (0-262-04225-8)
Hardcover, Mit Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Sweet Dreams: Philosophical Obstacles To A Science Of Consciousness'Book summary:In the years since Daniel Dennett's influential Consciousness Explained was published in 1991, scientific research on consciousness has been a hotly contested battleground of rival theories -- "so rambunctious," Dennett observes, "that several people are writing books just about the tumult." With Sweet Dreams, Dennett returns to the subject for "revision and renewal" of his theory of consciousness, taking into account major empirical advances in the field since 1991 as well as recent theoretical challenges.In Consciousness Explained, Dennett proposed to replace the ubiquitous but bankrupt Cartesian Theater model (which posits a privileged place in the brain where "it all comes together" for the magic show of consciousness) with the Multiple Drafts Model. Drawing on psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and artificial intelligence, he asserted that human consciousness is essentially the mental software that reorganizes the functional architecture of the brain. In Sweet Dreams, he recasts the Multiple Drafts Model as the "fame in the brain" model, as a background against which to examine the philosophical issues that "continue to bedevil the field."With his usual clarity and brio, Dennett enlivens his arguments with a variety of vivid examples. He isolates the "Zombic Hunch" that distorts much of the theorizing of both philosophers and scientists, and defends heterophenomenology, his "third-person" approach to the science of consciousness, against persistent misinterpretations and objections. The old challenge of Frank Jackson's thought experiment about Mary the color scientist is given a new rebuttal in the form of "RoboMary," while his discussion of a famous card trick, "The Tuned Deck," is designed to show that David Chalmers's Hard Problem is probably just a figment of theorists' misexploited imagination. In the final essay, the "intrinsic" nature of "qualia" is compared with the naively imagined "intrinsic value" of a dollar in "Consciousness -- How Much is That in Real Money?"
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A Universe of Consciousnessby Giulio Tononi, Gerald M. EdelmanISBN 0465013775 (0-465-01377-5)
Softcover, Basic Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Universe of Consciousness'Book summary:Emily Dickinson wrote "The Brain--is wider than the Sky," and who can argue with that? Quoted by Nobel-winning scientist Gerald M. Edelman and his Neurosciences Institute colleague Giulio Tononi in A Universe of Consciousness, Miss Emily neatly explains the problem of conscious awareness, then ducks out of the way as the two scientists get to work solving it. Testable theories of consciousness are mighty lonely, as even the soberest mind can be driven to tears of madness pondering its own activity. Centuries of work by philosophers and psychologists like James and Freud have made little progress by starting with awareness and working backward to the brain; these days we have a secure enough base to try looking in the other direction and building a theory of the mind out of neurons.
Though Edelman and Tononi do make a good effort to help out the lay reader, ultimately A Universe of Consciousness is aimed at the interdisciplinary gang of scientists and academics trying to understand our shared but invisible experience. The first sections of the book cover the basic philosophical, psychological, and biological elements essential to their theory. Swiftly the authors proceed to define terms and concepts (even the long-abused term complexity gets a reappraisal) and elaborate on these to create a robust, testable theory of the neural basis of consciousness. Following this hard work, they consider some ramifications of the theory and take a close look at language and thinking. This much-needed jump-start is sure to provoke a flurry of experimental and theoretical responses; A Universe of Consciousness might just help us answer some of the greatest questions of science, philosophy, and even poetry. --Rob Lightner [via]
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The User Illusion: Cutting Consciousness Down to Sizeby Tor Nrretranders, Jonathan SydenhamISBN 0140230122 (0-14-023012-2)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA
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Wider Than The Sky: The Phenomenal Gift Of Consciousnessby Gerald M. EdelmanISBN 0300107617 (0-300-10761-7)
Softcover, Yale Univ Pr
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Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousnessby James H. AustinISBN 0262511096 (0-262-51109-6)
Softcover, Mit Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Zen and the Brain: Toward an Understanding of Meditation and Consciousness'Book summary:Take a trip through the topography of the brain, and you're likely to get lost somewhere around the medulla oblongata. Zen can lose you before you've even pretzeled your legs into the lotus position. But a unique neurologist-Zen Buddhist has written a tome that is a map to all the mysteries of meditation and mind. Take breathing out, for example. We spend just over half of our breathing time exhaling. For meditating monks, it's a full three-quarters. EEGs show us that the act of exhaling helps physically quiet the brain. Many other causal connections can be found between Zen practices and the physiology of the brain, and James H. Austin lays them out one by one, drawing from his own Zen experiences and the latest in neurological research. So if you've ever wondered what the corpus callosum has to do with consciousness or how the limbic system contributes to enlightenment, Austin will get your brain racing and put your mind at ease. --Brian Bruya [via]
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La Conciencia Sin Fronteras / No Boundary: Aproximaciones De Oriente Y Occidente Al Crecimiento / Personal Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growthby Ken Wilber, Marta I. GuastavinoISBN 8472452786 (84-7245-278-6)
Softcover, Karios Editorial Sa
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› Find signed collectible books: 'La Conciencia Sin Fronteras / No Boundary: Aproximaciones De Oriente Y Occidente Al Crecimiento / Personal Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growth'Book summary:The most persistent form of alienation in human beings is the fragmentation of their identities into separate and distinct parts, such as subject and object, mind and body, reason and instinct, and life and death. Plumbing the depths of this diagnosis, this book analyzes the spectrum of human consciousness and the similarities between therapies that attempt to reintegrate such artificial dualities. The therapies examined range from Eastern to Occidental, from Zen to psychoanalysis, from transcendental meditation to Gestalt, from tantra to existentialism. Practical exercises and a thorough bibliography accompany each chapter.[via]La más persistente alienación del ser humano es la fractura de su identidad en diferentes partes separadas, por ejemplo sujeto y objeto, mente y cuerpo, razón e instinto, vida y muerte, organismo y medio. Arrancando de este diagnóstico, este libro examina el espectro de la conciencia humana y el conjunto de terapias encaminadas a reintegrar estas dualidades artificiales. Estas terapias se inspiran tanto en Occidente como en Oriente, y van del psicoanálisis al zen, de la Gestalt a la meditación trascendental, del existencialismo al tantra. Ejercicios prácticos y bibliografía fundamental acompañan a cada capítulo.More editions of La Conciencia Sin Fronteras / No Boundary: Aproximaciones De Oriente Y Occidente Al Crecimiento / Personal Eastern and Western Approaches to Personal Growth:
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Gdel, Escher, Bachby D.R. HofstadterISBN 8472234592 (84-7223-459-2)
Softcover, Tusquets Editor
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Gdel, Escher, Bach'Book summary:¿Puede un sistema comprenderse a sí mismo ? Si esta pregunta se refiere a la mente humana, entonces nos encontramos ante una cuestión clave del pensamiento científico. Y de la filosofía. Y del arte. Investigar este misterio es una aventura que recorre la matemática, la física, la biología, la psicología y, muy especialmente, el lenguaje. Douglas R. Hofstadter, joven y ya célebre científico, nos abre la puerta del enigma con la belleza y la alegría creadora de su estilo. Sorprendentes paralelismos ocultos entre los grabados de Escher y la música de Bach nos remiten a las paradojas clásicas de los antiguos griegos y a un teorema de la lógica matemática moderna que ha estremecido el pensamiento del siglo XX : el de Kurt Gödel. Todo lenguaje, todo sistema formal, todo programa de ordenador, todo proceso de pensamiento, llegan, tarde o temprano, a la situación límite de la autorreferencia : de querer expresarse sobre sí mismos. Surge entonces la emoción del infinito, como dos espejos enfrentados y obligados a reflejarse mutua e indefinidamente. Gödel, Escher, Bach: un Eterno y Grácil Bucle, es una obra de arte escrita por un sabio. Versa sobre los misterios del pensamiento e incluye, ella misma, sus propios misterios. / Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this book applies Godel's seminal contribution to modern Twenty years after it topped the bestseller charts, Douglas R. Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid is still something of a marvel. Besides being a profound and entertaining meditation on human thought and creativity, this book looks at the surprising points of contact between the music of Bach, the artwork of Escher, and the mathematics of Gödel.mathematics to the study of the human mind and the development of artificial intelligence. [via]
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Ao Encontro De Espinosa: As Emocoes Sociais E a Neurologia Do Sentirby Antonio R. DamasioISBN 9721052299 (972-1-05229-9)
Hardcover, Publicacoes Europa-America
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Ao Encontro De Espinosa: As Emocoes Sociais E a Neurologia Do Sentir'More editions of Ao Encontro De Espinosa: As Emocoes Sociais E a Neurologia Do Sentir:
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