Overview
This engaging and readable book provides an introduction to consciousness that does justice both to the science and to the philosophy of consciousness, that is, the mechanics of the mind and the experience of awareness. The book opens with a general discussion of the brain and of consciousness itself. Then, exploring the areas of brain science most likely to illuminate the basis of awareness, Zeman focuses on the science of sleep and waking and on the science of vision. He describes healthy states and disorders—epilepsy, narcolepsy, blindsight and hallucinations after stroke—that provide insights into the capacity for consciousness and into its contents. And he tracks the evolution of the brain, the human species, and human culture and surveys the main current scientific theories of awareness, pioneering attempts to explain how the brain gives rise to experience. Zeman concludes by examining philosophical arguments about the nature of consciousness. A practicing neurologist, he animates his text with examples from the behavioral and neurological disorders of his patients and from the expanding mental worlds of young children, including his own. His book is an accessible and enlightening explanation of why we are conscious.Author Biography: Adam Zeman is a consultant neurologist at Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, and senior lecturer in the department of clinical neurosciences at Edinburgh University.
Synopsis
In this thought-provoking book, neurologist Adam Zeman offers an enlightening view of consciousness seen through the lenses of science and philosophy, enhancing his discussion with case studies of neurological patients and observations of young children’s expanding mental worlds.
“An articulate . . . neurologist . . . covers many aspects of consciousness for general readers. His treatment of the disorders of knowledge is superb. If you were intrigued with The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, you’ll appreciate [the book’s] buildup to what Oliver Sacks described in that work. . . . Approachable and instructive.”—William H. Calvin, New York Times Book Review
“A grand tour of the terrain of consciousness, as viewed from neuroscientific and philosophical perspectives.”—Colin Beer, Quarterly Review of Biology
“[Zeman] is uniquely qualified to write this particular book, whose chief merit is that it provides a summary of the current state of play in neurobiology, psychology, and philosophy. . . . A very useful book.”—John R. Searle, Los Angeles Times Book Review
The New York Times
An articulate, liberally educated neurologist at the University of Edinburgh, Adam Zeman has written columns for The Times of London and is an occasional commentator for the BBC and the co-author of a book on ethical problems in neurology. His new book covers many aspects of consciousness for general readers. His treatment of the disorders of knowledge is superb. If you were intrigued with The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, you'll appreciate the buildup to what Oliver Sacks described in that work. Zeman's much more subtle examples give you some appreciation for how seeing and describing can become disconnected from recognition and other forms of knowledge. — William H. Calvin