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Consciousness: The Science of Subjectivity
The study of consciousness is recognized as one of the biggest remaining challenges to the scientific community. This book provides a fascinating introduction to the new science that promises to illuminate our understanding of the subject. Consciousness covers all the main approaches to the modern scientific study of consciousness, and also gives the necessary historical, philosophical and conceptual background to the field. Current scientific evidence and theory from the fields of neuropsychology, cognitive neuroscience, brain imaging and the study of altered states of consciousness such as dreaming, hypnosis, meditation and out-of-body experiences is presented. Revonsuo provides an integrative review of the major existing philosophical and empirical theories of consciousness and identifies the most promising areas for future developments in the field. This textbook offers a readable and timely introduction to the science of consciousness for anyone interested in this compelling area, especially undergraduates studying psychology, philosophy, cognition, neuroscience and related fields.
324 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
About the author
Antti Revonsuo
9 books7 followersAntti Revonsuo is a cognitive neuroscientist, psychologist, and philosopher of mind. His work seeks to understand consciousness as a biological phenomenon. He is one of a small number of philosophers running their own laboratories.
Currently, Revonsuo is a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Skövde in Sweden and of psychology at the University of Turku in Finland. His work focuses on altered states of consciousness in general and dreaming in particular. He is best known for his Threat Simulation Theory, which – in the tradition of evolutionary psychology – states that dreams serve the biological function of rehearsing possibly threatening situations in order to aid survival, and his advocacy of the dreaming brain as a model of consciousness.
Revonsuo completed his graduate education at the University of Turku, receiving his Master’s Degree in Psychology in 1990, a Licentiate in Philosophy in 1991, and finally a Ph.D. in Psychology in 1995. Since 2003, he is a member of the Academy of Finland.
Currently, Revonsuo is a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Skövde in Sweden and of psychology at the University of Turku in Finland. His work focuses on altered states of consciousness in general and dreaming in particular. He is best known for his Threat Simulation Theory, which – in the tradition of evolutionary psychology – states that dreams serve the biological function of rehearsing possibly threatening situations in order to aid survival, and his advocacy of the dreaming brain as a model of consciousness.
Revonsuo completed his graduate education at the University of Turku, receiving his Master’s Degree in Psychology in 1990, a Licentiate in Philosophy in 1991, and finally a Ph.D. in Psychology in 1995. Since 2003, he is a member of the Academy of Finland.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 18, 2013
An introductory text book giving a rapid and continual overview of the current state of consciousness studies. Topics range from historical foundations, including mesmerism, Cartesian dualism, and the introspectionists; contemporary theories such as epiphenomenalism, dualism, and multiple theories of monism; philosophical theories of consciousness; empirical theories of consciousness; altered states of consciousness (ASCs) including hypnosis, runner's high, meditation, dreaming and sleep-related disorders, near death experiences (NDEs) and out of body experiences (OBEs), mystic and meditative experiences, but curiously nothing more than a passing sentence or two about drugs induced ASCs.
The text doesn't delve much deeper than a superficial overview of concepts and, occasionally, a short discussion of prominent authors or contributors to the field in question. I would have rather deeper discussion on few topics than shallow perusal of many.
I found it odd that an introductory text such as this appears to be would rely so heavily on non-layman understanding of neurological terminology and brain regions (e.g. temporoparietal junction (TPJ), amygdala, thalamus, fusiform face area (FFA), striatum, etc...).
What this book does succeed in doing is forcing the reader to critically analyze exactly *what* constitutes consciousness, whether it is an all-or-nothing phenomenon or possibly a gradient or emerging property of highly organized matter, whether it is the organization of the matter as such or the matter itself that allows for consciousness to develop, or whether matter is even essential to consciousness (dualism).
Are humans the only species with consciousness? If consciousness depends on organization and not substance then wouldn't AI be an attainable goal?
The text doesn't delve much deeper than a superficial overview of concepts and, occasionally, a short discussion of prominent authors or contributors to the field in question. I would have rather deeper discussion on few topics than shallow perusal of many.
I found it odd that an introductory text such as this appears to be would rely so heavily on non-layman understanding of neurological terminology and brain regions (e.g. temporoparietal junction (TPJ), amygdala, thalamus, fusiform face area (FFA), striatum, etc...).
What this book does succeed in doing is forcing the reader to critically analyze exactly *what* constitutes consciousness, whether it is an all-or-nothing phenomenon or possibly a gradient or emerging property of highly organized matter, whether it is the organization of the matter as such or the matter itself that allows for consciousness to develop, or whether matter is even essential to consciousness (dualism).
Are humans the only species with consciousness? If consciousness depends on organization and not substance then wouldn't AI be an attainable goal?
April 9, 2020
–2013.06.25
Contents
Revonsuo A (2010) Consciousness - The Science of Subjectivity
Introduction
• Consciousness and its place in the scientific view of the world
• The contents of this book
• A cautionary note on the approach to consciousness taken in this book
Acknowledgments
Part I: Background to the Science of Consciousness
01. The philosophical foundations of consciousness science
• Introduction
• The First Distinction: Dualism and Monism
• • Definition of dualism
• • Definition of monism
• Dualistic Theories of Consciousness
• • Interactionism
• • Cartesian dualism: The paradigm case of interactionism
• • Epiphenomenalism
• • Parallelism
• Monistic theories of consciousness
• • Materialism (or physicalism) defined
• • Eliminative materialism
• • Reductive materialism
• • Microphysicalism: The ultimate reductionism
• • Emergent materialism
• • Summary of monistic materialism
• • Idealism
• • Neutral monism
• • Functionalism
• Why the Mind–Body Problem Will Not Go Away
• • The "Explanatory Gap" and the "Hard Problem"
• • Subjectivity
• • What is it like to be a bat?
• • Future science and consciousness
• • Philosophical problems and consciousness
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
02. The historical foundations of consciousness science
• Introduction
• The 1800s: From Philosophy to Experimental Science of Consciousness
• • Phrenology
• • Psychophysics
• Introspectionism: The First Scientific Psychology of Consciousness
• • Wilhelm Wundt and the birth of psychological science
• • Titchener and structuralism: The atoms of consciousness
• • William James and the stream of consciousness
• The Fall of Introspectionism as a Science of Consciousness
• • Gestalt psychology: Consciousness is holistic, not atomistic
• • Behaviourism: How consciousness became taboo in scientific psychology
• • Freud's critique of consciousness
• From Cognitive Science to the Science of Consciousness
• • Cognitive science: A science of mind, but devoid of consciousness
• • Phoenix rising: Emergence of the modern science of consciousness
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
03. The conceptual foundations of consciousness science
• Introduction
• How to Describe the Subjective Reality of Consciousness
• • Phenomenal consciousness: The fundamental form of subjectivity
• • Qualia
• • The state of being conscious and the specific contents of consciousness
• • The internal structure of phenomenal consciousness: Centre and periphery
• • Attention and consciousness
• • Change blindness and inattentional blindness
• • Reflective consciousness
• • Introspection
• • Self-awareness
• Concepts to Describe the Absence of Consciousness
• • Unconscious
• • Nonconscious
• • Zombies
�� Alternative Definitions and Usages of the Concept of "Consciousness"
• • Consciousness defined as the ability to respond to stimulation
• • Consciousness defined as the ability to represent information from the external world
• • Consciousness defined as wakefulness
• • Consciousness defined as access to output systems, control of behaviour or behavioural interactions with the world
• • Consciousness and awareness
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
Part II: Central Domains of Consciousness Science
I. Neuropsychology of consciousness
• Introduction: What are the Central Domains of Consciousness Science?
04. Neuropsychological deficits of visual consciousness
• Introduction: The Unity of Visual Consciousness
• Cerebral Achromatopsia: Colour Qualia Vanish Without a Trace
• Visual Agnosia: Loss of Coherent Visual Objects
• Semantic Dementia: Loss of the Meaning of Objects
• Simultanagnosia: Loss of the Phenomenal Background
• Neglect: Loss of Phenomenal Space
• Akinetopsia: Loss of Visual Animation
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
05. Neuropsychological dissociations of visual consciousness from behaviour
• Introduction: What is a Neuropsychological Dissociation?
• Dissociations and Consciousness
• • Blindsight
• • Implicit visually guided action
• • Implicit face recognition in prosopagnosia
• • Implicit recognition of words and objects in neglect
• Theories of the Conscious/Nonconscious Dissociations
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
06. Neuropsychological disorders of self-awareness
• Introduction
• Amnesia
• Split-Brain
• Anosognosia
• Somatoparaphrenia (Asomatognosia)
• Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and Deficits of Belief Systems
• • Capgras delusion
• • Fregoli delusion
• • The left-hemisphere interpreter and the right-hemisphere devil's advocate
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
II. Neural correlates of consciousness (NCC)
• Introduction: What Is a "Neural Correlate of Consciousness" (NCC)?
07. Methods and design of NCC experiments
• Introduction: How to Design NCC Experiments
• Functional Brain Imaging Methods: fMRI and PET
• Electromagnetic Brain Sensing with EEG and MEG
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
08. Studies on the neural basis of consciousness as a state
• Introduction: Consciousness as a State
• Anaesthesia
• Epileptic Seizures and Deep Sleep
• Locked-In Syndrome
• Vegetative State and Other Global Disorders of Consciousness
• Inverse Zombies
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
09. Studies on the neural basis of visual consciousness
• Introduction: Visual Information and Visual Consciousness
• Binocular Rivalry Studies
• Visual Hallucinations
• EEG and MEG Experiments on Visual Consciousness
• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
Part III: Theories of consciousness
• Introduction: What Is a Theory of Consciousness?
10. Philosophical theories of consciousness
• Review of Current Philosophical Theories of Consciousness
• • Multiple drafts theory (Dennett)
• • Sensorimotor theory (O´Regan and Noë)
• • Biological naturalism (Searle)
• • Naturalistic dualism (Chalmers)
• • Higher order theories (HOTs) of consciousness
• • Externalist representationalism (Tye, Dretske)
• • Neurophenomenology (Varela, Lutz, Thompson, Noë)
• • Reflexive monism (Velmans)
• • Virtual reality theory (Metzinger, Lehar)
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
11. Empirical theories of consciousness
• Review of Current Empirical Theories of Consciousness
• • Global workspace theory (Baars)
• • Neurobiological theory (Crick and Koch)
• • The dynamic core (Tononi and Edelman) and the information integration theory (Tononi)
• • Thalamocortical binding theory (Llinás)
• • Recurrent processing theory (Lamme)
• • Microconsciousness theory (Zeki)
• • Consciousness as the feeling of what happens (Damasio)
• Analysis: Major Issues of Disagreement in Theories of Consciousness
• • The location of consciousness: Externalism vs. internalism
• • The fundamental nature of consciousness: Phenomenology vs. cognition
• • The fundamental form of phenomenal consciousness: Atomism vs. holism
• • Conclusions
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
Part IV. Altered states of consciousness
12. What is an "altered state of consciousness" (ASC)?
• Introduction
• How to Define "Altered State of Consciousness"
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
13. Dreaming and sleep
• Introduction: A Brief History of Dreaming and Consciousness
• Hypnagogic and Hypnopompic Hallucinations
• Sleep Paralysis
• Sleep Mentation vs. Dreaming
• The Contents of Dreaming
• Why Do We Dream?
• Lucid Dreaming
• Bad Dreams and Nightmares
• Night Terrors
• Sleepwalking and Nocturnal Wandering
• REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder and Dreamwalking
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
14. Hypnosis
• Introduction
• Brief History of Hypnosis
• Hypnotic Induction
• Hypnotic Suggestibility
• Is Hypnosis an ASC?
• What Happens to Consciousness Under Hypnosis?
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
15. Higher states of consciousness
• Introduction
• Meditation
• Optimal Experience and Flow
• Runner's High
• Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs)
• Near-Death Experiences (NDEs)
• Mystical Experiences
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
Epilogue
• Reflections on the science of subjective experience
• Philosophical reflections
• The least plausible world-views
• The (slightly) more plausible world-views
• Consciousness as an inner presence
• Future of consciousness science
• Final word: At least we know that our consciousness exists – but what should we do with it?
Glossary
References
Author Index
Subject Index
Contents
Revonsuo A (2010) Consciousness - The Science of Subjectivity
Introduction
• Consciousness and its place in the scientific view of the world
• The contents of this book
• A cautionary note on the approach to consciousness taken in this book
Acknowledgments
Part I: Background to the Science of Consciousness
01. The philosophical foundations of consciousness science
• Introduction
• The First Distinction: Dualism and Monism
• • Definition of dualism
• • Definition of monism
• Dualistic Theories of Consciousness
• • Interactionism
• • Cartesian dualism: The paradigm case of interactionism
• • Epiphenomenalism
• • Parallelism
• Monistic theories of consciousness
• • Materialism (or physicalism) defined
• • Eliminative materialism
• • Reductive materialism
• • Microphysicalism: The ultimate reductionism
• • Emergent materialism
• • Summary of monistic materialism
• • Idealism
• • Neutral monism
• • Functionalism
• Why the Mind–Body Problem Will Not Go Away
• • The "Explanatory Gap" and the "Hard Problem"
• • Subjectivity
• • What is it like to be a bat?
• • Future science and consciousness
• • Philosophical problems and consciousness
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
02. The historical foundations of consciousness science
• Introduction
• The 1800s: From Philosophy to Experimental Science of Consciousness
• • Phrenology
• • Psychophysics
• Introspectionism: The First Scientific Psychology of Consciousness
• • Wilhelm Wundt and the birth of psychological science
• • Titchener and structuralism: The atoms of consciousness
• • William James and the stream of consciousness
• The Fall of Introspectionism as a Science of Consciousness
• • Gestalt psychology: Consciousness is holistic, not atomistic
• • Behaviourism: How consciousness became taboo in scientific psychology
• • Freud's critique of consciousness
• From Cognitive Science to the Science of Consciousness
• • Cognitive science: A science of mind, but devoid of consciousness
• • Phoenix rising: Emergence of the modern science of consciousness
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
03. The conceptual foundations of consciousness science
• Introduction
• How to Describe the Subjective Reality of Consciousness
• • Phenomenal consciousness: The fundamental form of subjectivity
• • Qualia
• • The state of being conscious and the specific contents of consciousness
• • The internal structure of phenomenal consciousness: Centre and periphery
• • Attention and consciousness
• • Change blindness and inattentional blindness
• • Reflective consciousness
• • Introspection
• • Self-awareness
• Concepts to Describe the Absence of Consciousness
• • Unconscious
• • Nonconscious
• • Zombies
�� Alternative Definitions and Usages of the Concept of "Consciousness"
• • Consciousness defined as the ability to respond to stimulation
• • Consciousness defined as the ability to represent information from the external world
• • Consciousness defined as wakefulness
• • Consciousness defined as access to output systems, control of behaviour or behavioural interactions with the world
• • Consciousness and awareness
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
Part II: Central Domains of Consciousness Science
I. Neuropsychology of consciousness
• Introduction: What are the Central Domains of Consciousness Science?
04. Neuropsychological deficits of visual consciousness
• Introduction: The Unity of Visual Consciousness
• Cerebral Achromatopsia: Colour Qualia Vanish Without a Trace
• Visual Agnosia: Loss of Coherent Visual Objects
• Semantic Dementia: Loss of the Meaning of Objects
• Simultanagnosia: Loss of the Phenomenal Background
• Neglect: Loss of Phenomenal Space
• Akinetopsia: Loss of Visual Animation
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
05. Neuropsychological dissociations of visual consciousness from behaviour
• Introduction: What is a Neuropsychological Dissociation?
• Dissociations and Consciousness
• • Blindsight
• • Implicit visually guided action
• • Implicit face recognition in prosopagnosia
• • Implicit recognition of words and objects in neglect
• Theories of the Conscious/Nonconscious Dissociations
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
06. Neuropsychological disorders of self-awareness
• Introduction
• Amnesia
• Split-Brain
• Anosognosia
• Somatoparaphrenia (Asomatognosia)
• Cognitive Neuropsychiatry and Deficits of Belief Systems
• • Capgras delusion
• • Fregoli delusion
• • The left-hemisphere interpreter and the right-hemisphere devil's advocate
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
II. Neural correlates of consciousness (NCC)
• Introduction: What Is a "Neural Correlate of Consciousness" (NCC)?
07. Methods and design of NCC experiments
• Introduction: How to Design NCC Experiments
• Functional Brain Imaging Methods: fMRI and PET
• Electromagnetic Brain Sensing with EEG and MEG
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
08. Studies on the neural basis of consciousness as a state
• Introduction: Consciousness as a State
• Anaesthesia
• Epileptic Seizures and Deep Sleep
• Locked-In Syndrome
• Vegetative State and Other Global Disorders of Consciousness
• Inverse Zombies
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
09. Studies on the neural basis of visual consciousness
• Introduction: Visual Information and Visual Consciousness
• Binocular Rivalry Studies
• Visual Hallucinations
• EEG and MEG Experiments on Visual Consciousness
• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
Part III: Theories of consciousness
• Introduction: What Is a Theory of Consciousness?
10. Philosophical theories of consciousness
• Review of Current Philosophical Theories of Consciousness
• • Multiple drafts theory (Dennett)
• • Sensorimotor theory (O´Regan and Noë)
• • Biological naturalism (Searle)
• • Naturalistic dualism (Chalmers)
• • Higher order theories (HOTs) of consciousness
• • Externalist representationalism (Tye, Dretske)
• • Neurophenomenology (Varela, Lutz, Thompson, Noë)
• • Reflexive monism (Velmans)
• • Virtual reality theory (Metzinger, Lehar)
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
11. Empirical theories of consciousness
• Review of Current Empirical Theories of Consciousness
• • Global workspace theory (Baars)
• • Neurobiological theory (Crick and Koch)
• • The dynamic core (Tononi and Edelman) and the information integration theory (Tononi)
• • Thalamocortical binding theory (Llinás)
• • Recurrent processing theory (Lamme)
• • Microconsciousness theory (Zeki)
• • Consciousness as the feeling of what happens (Damasio)
• Analysis: Major Issues of Disagreement in Theories of Consciousness
• • The location of consciousness: Externalism vs. internalism
• • The fundamental nature of consciousness: Phenomenology vs. cognition
• • The fundamental form of phenomenal consciousness: Atomism vs. holism
• • Conclusions
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
Part IV. Altered states of consciousness
12. What is an "altered state of consciousness" (ASC)?
• Introduction
• How to Define "Altered State of Consciousness"
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
13. Dreaming and sleep
• Introduction: A Brief History of Dreaming and Consciousness
• Hypnagogic and Hypnopompic Hallucinations
• Sleep Paralysis
• Sleep Mentation vs. Dreaming
• The Contents of Dreaming
• Why Do We Dream?
• Lucid Dreaming
• Bad Dreams and Nightmares
• Night Terrors
• Sleepwalking and Nocturnal Wandering
• REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder and Dreamwalking
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
14. Hypnosis
• Introduction
• Brief History of Hypnosis
• Hypnotic Induction
• Hypnotic Suggestibility
• Is Hypnosis an ASC?
• What Happens to Consciousness Under Hypnosis?
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
15. Higher states of consciousness
• Introduction
• Meditation
• Optimal Experience and Flow
• Runner's High
• Out-of-Body Experiences (OBEs)
• Near-Death Experiences (NDEs)
• Mystical Experiences
• Chapter Summary
• Further Reading
• Brief Discussion Questions
Epilogue
• Reflections on the science of subjective experience
• Philosophical reflections
• The least plausible world-views
• The (slightly) more plausible world-views
• Consciousness as an inner presence
• Future of consciousness science
• Final word: At least we know that our consciousness exists – but what should we do with it?
Glossary
References
Author Index
Subject Index
September 15, 2010
excellent and modern introduction to the science of consciousness
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews