CONSCIOUSNESS --- A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION
by Susan Blackmore. Oxford University Press, 2005
OUTLINE OF BOOK'S FACTS & IDEAS
    LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS (ix-xx)

    1) WHY THE MYSTERY? (1-16)

      [1] The "hard problem" (1-6)

      [2] Defining consciousness (6-10)

      [3] Zombie (11-13)

      [4] The "theater of the mind" (13-16)

    2) THE HUMAN BRAIN (17-32)

      [1] The unity of consciousness (17-20)

      [2] The neural correlates of consciousness — NCCs (20-24)

      [3] Damaged minds (24-28)

      [4] Seeing without seeing (28-32)

    3) TIME AND SPACE (33-49)

      [1] The timing of experience (33-36)

      [2] Clocks and rabbits (36-39)

      [3] Driving unconsciously (40-43)

      [4] Theories of consciousness (43-49)

    4) A GRAND ILLUSION (50-65)

      [1] The nature of illusion (50-54)

      [2] Filling in the gaps (55-58)

      [3] Blindness to change (58-61)

      [4] Grand illusion theory (61-65)

    "Grand illusion" theory of vision is worth taking seriously since the traditional theories of vision lead only to confusion and the "hard problem" of human consciousness! (65)

    Answer to riddle = (65)

    5) THE SELF (66-81)

      [1] Spirits and souls (66-69)

      [2] Splitting brains (70-74)

      [3] Hypnosis and dissociation (75-78)

      [4] Theories of self (78-81)

    6) CONSCIOUS WILL (82-98)

      [1] Do we have free will? (82-90)

      [2] The feeling of willing (90-93)

      [3] The illusion of conscious will (93-98)

    7) ALTERED STATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS (99-115)

      [1] Sleep and dreams (99-104)

      [2] Drugs and consciousness (104-108)

      [3] Unusual experiences (108-111)

      [4] Meditation (111-115)

    8) THE EVOLUTION OF CONSCIOUSNESS (116-134)

      [1] Mirrors, selves, and other minds (120-123)

      [2] The function of consciousness (123-128)

      [3] The function of consciousness (128-133)

      [4] Grand illusion theory (61-65)

    FURTHER READING (135-140)

    INDEX (141-146)

    BOOK'S DESCRIPTIONS & REVIEWS

    ABOUT THE AUTHOR = Susan Blackmore is a psychologist, freelance writer, and lecturer. Previously Reader in Psychology at the University of the West of England, Bristol, she left in 2000 to write an undergraduate textbook on consciousness. The author of numerous scientific articles and book contributions, she writes for several magazines and newspapers and is a frequent contributor on radio and television, both in the UK and abroad. She has presented several television programs including a Channel 4 documentary on the intelligence of apes. She has been training in Zen for twenty years. Her books include an autobiography, In Search of the Light (1996), The Meme Machine (1999), Consciousness: An Introduction (2003), and Conversations about Consciousness (forthcoming in 2005).

    SUMMARY = "The last great mystery for science," consciousness has become a controversial topic. This book challenges readers to reconsider key concepts such as personality, free will, and the soul. 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?

    PRODUCT DESCRIPTION = Exciting new developments in brain science are opening up debates about the key concepts of consciousness. The field has now expanded to include biologists, neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers. This book clarifies the potentially confusing arguments and clearly describes the major theories, with illustrations and lively cartoons to help explain the experiments.

    Topics include vision and attention, theories of self, experiments on action and awareness, altered states of consciousness, and the effects of brain damage and drugs.

    This lively, engaging, and authoritative book provides a clear overview of the subject that combines the perspectives of philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience--and serves as a much-needed launch pad for further exploration of this complicated and unsolved issue.

    REVIEW = A very thought-provoking book. The Guardian
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