The neuroscience of consciousness and how it applies to leadership
John Knights
Routledge eBooks March 9, 2018 DOI: 10.4324/9781315178806-14 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that effective, ethical leadership depends on bringing the brain's spiritual, ethical, and value-based processes into full consciousness, and proposes that "Transpersonal Leaders" can develop this awareness, perhaps by attending to the faint background voice of consciousness. Uses Nagel's bat thought experiment to illustrate how subjective viewpoints can differ radically from our own. |
Abstract
This chapter aims to understand more about consciousness so that we can better operate and manage it when we need to deal with our ego, make better judgements and be more ethical. It focuses on how the brain works to handle the spiritual, ethical and value-based aspects of leadership, which depends on bringing them to full consciousness. "Consciousness is what makes the mind-body problem really intractable." He imagined a subjective viewpoint very different from a human one. He chose a bat because they orient themselves in space by emitting very high frequency sounds then locating obstacles or prey through the echoes. The goal for Transpersonal Leaders is to be able to bring more of the processes going on in our brain into full consciousness. Perhaps getting better at listening to that small voice in the background of our consciousness will help.