Wider than the sky : the phenomenal gift of consciousness / Gerald M. Edelman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Edelman, Gerald M.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Consciousness--Physiological aspects.

Consciousness.

Brain--Physiological aspects.

Brain.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (224 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, c2004.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

How does the firing of neurons give rise to subjective sensations, thoughts, and emotions? How can the disparate domains of mind and body be reconciled? The quest for a scientifically based understanding of consciousness has attracted study and speculation across the ages. In this direct and non-technical discussion of consciousness, Dr. Gerald M. Edelman draws on a lifetime of scientific inquiry into the workings of the brain to formulate answers to the mind-body questions that intrigue every thinking person.Concise and understandable, the book explains pertinent findings of modern neuroscience and describes how consciousness arises in complex brains. Edelman explores the relation of consciousness to causation, to evolution, to the development of the self, and to the origins of feelings, learning, and memory. His analysis of the brain activities underlying consciousness is based on recent remarkable advances in biochemistry, immunology, medical imaging, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology, yet the implications of his book extend fartherbeyond the worlds of science and medicine into virtually every area of human inquiry.

Contents:

The mind of man: completing Darwin's program

Consciousness: the remembered present

Elements of the brain

Neural Darwinism: a global brain theory

The mechanisms of consciousness

Wider than the sky: qualia, unity, and complexity

Consciousness and causation: the phenomenal transform

The conscious and the nonconscious: automaticity and attention

Higher-order consciousness and representation

Theory and the properties of consciousness

Identity: the self, mortality, and value

Mind and body: some consequences.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-185) and index.

ISBN:

1-281-72290-1

9786611722906

0-300-13366-9

OCLC:

923589346