Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction

by Susan Blackmore

Paperback, 2005

Status

Available

Call number

153

Publication

Oxford University Press (2005), Paperback, 146 pages

Description

Consciousness, 'the last great mystery for science', remains a hot topic. How can a physical brain create our experience of the world? What creates our identity? Do we really have free will? Could consciousness itself be an illusion?Exciting new developments in brain science are continuing the debates on these issues, and the field has now expanded to include biologists, neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers. This controversial book clarifies the potentially confusing arguments, and the major theories, whilst also outlining the amazing pace of discoveries in neuroscience. Covering areas such as the construction of self in the brain, mechanisms of attention, the neural correlates of consciousness, and the physiology of altered states of consciousness, Susan Blackmore highlights our latest findings.ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member TomSlee

I've reread this very short book several times. It's well written, very clear, and gets to the heart of the big questions about consciousness in a very concise manner. If you want to start reading about the subject, this really is a great place to do so.

I'm pretty sympathetic to Blackmore's

philosophical outlook, so I may find this more appealing than non-materialists might.

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LibraryThing member mschaefer

A fine, and very short, introduction to theory of consciousness. The brevity of the book means that sometimes connections are not perfectly clear, but for that there are more detailed texts available (which are listed in an annotated bibliography).

LibraryThing member pathlessness

A clean scientific and philosophical approach to the problem of human consciousness. The starting key question: How does it feel to be a bat? It does not teach you but presents a lot of questions with possible answers. (Who knows maybe you can answer better). “How to define a state of

consciousness and the state of corresponding brain activities?" You will know many new terms and phenomena from the field of neurology, physiology and the human paradox thinking (Synaesthesia? Occipital lobe? Ventral stream?) . Curious chapters like “Speed and Consciousness”, “Drugs and consciousness”. Funny drawings make it easy to read indeed. The book size is also inviting – 143 page, 15x10cm.

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LibraryThing member jpporter

It is difficult, as a philosopher, to review the work of another philosopher without taking issue with conclusions with which one disagrees. However, it is easy to recognize a work that strives to be fair to all perspectives, providing both positive and negative assessments of the various

explanations for the concept of "consciousness." This much Blackmore does very well, although she does overlook some very important theories of that to which the "I" refers (but then, this is supposed to be a very short introduction, so some omissions are inevitable).

Blackmore ultimately turns to the "eliminative materialist" position, according to which self-consciousness is a self-deception, and ought to be dismissed as such. This may not be very satisfactory to many, but she does give a discussion overall that is adequate to show why some philosophers have become eliminativist, if only out of frustration.

A nice, concise, introduction to a very deep issue. (I read the Kindle version of this book.)

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LibraryThing member steve02476

Great quick review of various definitions and theories of consciousness. Author came on a little strongly with her own views in the last few pages, but I happen to more or less agree with them. Would like to read a “not-quite-so-short” introduction with about the same style and level of

difficulty but more in depth…

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