ISBN : 9780198728443
Everyone knows what consciousness is: it is what vanishes when we fall into dreamless sleep and reappears when we wake up or when we dream. However, we become less and less confident when we are called to answer fundamental questions about the relationships between consciousness and the physical world. Using the Integrated information theory (IIT) as a guiding principle, Sizing up Consciousness takes the reader vis-a-vis with these question along a fascinating journey from the cerebral cortex to the cerebellum, from wakefulness to sleep, anesthesia, and coma, supercomputers, octopuses, dolphins, and much more besides.
1 A Brain in your Hand
2 Zombies and Dolls
3 Brain Islands
4 Mysteries in the Cranium
5 A Theoretical Principle
6 The First Leg of the Journey: Into the cranium
7 Assessing Consciousness in Humans: From theory to practice
8 The World View of Consciousness
9 A universe in your hand