The Unity of Mind, Brain and World: Current Perspectives on a Science of Consciousness

Cambridge University Press, 9/12/2013
EAN 9781107026292, ISBN10: 1107026296

Hardcover, 368 pages, 22.8 x 15.2 x 2.4 cm
Language: English

Issues concerning the unity of minds, bodies and the world have often recurred in the history of philosophy and, more recently, in scientific models. Taking into account both the philosophical and scientific knowledge about consciousness, this book presents and discusses some theoretical guiding ideas for the science of consciousness. The authors argue that, within this interdisciplinary context, a consensus appears to be emerging assuming that the conscious mind and the functioning brain are two aspects of a complex system that interacts with the world. How can this concept of reality - one that includes the existence of consciousness - be approached both philosophically and scientifically? The Unity of Mind, Brain and World is the result of a three-year online discussion between the authors who present a diversity of perspectives, tending towards a theoretical synthesis, aimed to contribute to the insertion of this field of knowledge in the academic curriculum.

Introduction Alfredo Pereira, Jr and Dietrich Lehmann
1. Body and world as phenomenal contents of the brain's reality model Bjorn Merker
2. Homing in on the brain mechanisms linked to consciousness
the buffer of the perception-and-action interface Christine A. Godwin, Adam Gazzaley and Ezequiel Morsella
3. A biosemiotic view on consciousness derived from system hierarchy Ron Cottam and Willy Ranson
4. A conceptual framework embedding conscious experience in physical processes Wolfgang Baer
5. Emergence in dual-aspect monism Ram L. P. Vimal
6. Consciousness
microstates of the brain's electric field as atoms of thought and emotion Dietrich Lehmann
7. A foundation for the scientific study of consciousness Arnold Trehub
8. The proemial synapse
consciousness-generating glial-neuronal units Bernhard J. Mitterauer
9. A cognitive model of language and conscious processes Leonid Perlovsky
10. Triple-aspect monism
a conceptual framework for the science of human consciousness Alfredo Pereira, Jr.

Advance praise: 'The academic study of consciousness bubbles nowadays with fascinating findings and ideas; this book offers cutting edge accounts of some of the best of these. Covering topics ranging from brain microstates associated with cognition to conceptual frameworks needed to make sense of the whole field, it merits a place in every university library.' Chris Nunn, Associate Editor, Journal of Consciousness Studies