Remembered Present A Biological Theory Of Consciousness

by Edelman, Gerald M.

• ISBN13: 9780465069101
• ISBN10: 046506910X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1990-03-08
• Publisher: Basic Books

Summary

A genuine understanding of how mental states arise from the structure and function of the brain would be, as William James declared in 1892, "the scientific achievement before which all past achievements would pale." Can a comprehensive biological theory of consciousness be constructed in 1990? Any attempt has to reconcile evidence garnered from such diverse fields as developmental and evolutionary biology, neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, cognitive psychology, psychiatry, and philosophy.Having laid the groundwork in his critically acclaimed booksNeural Darwinism(Basic Books, 1987) andTopobiology(Basic Books, 1988), Nobel laureate Gerald M. Edelman now proposes a comprehensive theory of consciousness inThe Remembered Present. Integrating findings generated by the recent explosive growth in the neurosciences with current knowledge of anatomy, cell biology, and psychology, Edelman has been able to construct a detailed model of how we become aware of our own existence.In addition to providing a scientific account of brain function and consciousness, the theory advanced inThe Remembered Presentwill have a significant impact on a wide variety of fields. It provides a new outlook that may prompt fundamental revisions in the way linguists view language, physicians classify mental diseases, and philosophers look at the mind-body problem.

Author Biography

Gerald M. Edelman is director of the Neurosciences Institute and chairman of the Department of Neurobiology at the Scripps Research Institute. He received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1972. He is also the author of Bright Air, Brilliant Fire; Tobiology; and The Remembered Present.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	xiii
List of Tables	xv
Preface	xvii
Acknowledgments	xxi
PART ONE INTRODUCTION
Consciousness and the Scientific Observer	3	(12)
Proposals and Disclaimers	15	(22)
PART TWO THE EXTENDED THEORY
Neural Darwinism	37	(27)
Reentrant Signaling	64	(27)
Perceptual Experience and Consciousness	91	(18)
PART THREE MEMORY, ORDERING, AND CONCEPTS
Memory as Recategorization	109	(10)
Time and Space: Cortical Appendages and Organs of Succession	119	(21)
Concepts and Presyntax	140	(11)
PART FOUR CONSCIOUSNESS
A Model of Primary Consciousness	151	(22)
Language	173	(13)
Higher-Order Consciousness	186	(7)
The Conscious and the Unconscious	193	(21)
Diseases of Consciousness	214	(25)
PART FIVE BIOLOGICALLY BASED EPISTEMOLOGY
Physics, Evolution, and Consciousness: A Summary	239	(13)
Philosophical Issues: Qualified Realism	252	(21)
Epilogue	273	(2)
Notes	275	(38)
Bibliography	313	(24)
Credits	337	(2)
Index	339