Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction
Oxford University Press eBooks October 26, 2017 DOI: 10.1093/actrade/9780198794738.001.0001 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Consciousness Cognitive science Pace Illusion |
| Citations | 112 |
| Key findings | Consciousness is a major unresolved scientific mystery, and recent neuroscience advances are clarifying theories and mechanisms such as neural correlates of consciousness and the construction of self. |
Abstract
Consciousness is ‘the last great mystery for science’. 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 these debates, and the field has now expanded to include biologists, neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers. Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction clarifies the potentially confusing arguments, and the major theories, whilst also outlining the amazing pace of neuroscience discoveries. Covering areas such as construction of self in the brain, mechanisms of attention, neural correlates of consciousness, and physiology of altered states of consciousness, it highlights the latest findings.