Consciousness Explained

May 9, 2024 10:32 AM

Author:Daniel C. Dennett

In Consciousness Explained, Daniel C. Dennett reveals the secrets of one of the last remaining mysteries of the universe: the human brain.

Daniel C. Dennett's now-classic book blends philosophy, psychology and neuroscience - with the aid of numerous examples and thought-experiments - to explore how consciousness has evolved, and how a modern understanding of the human mind is radically different from conventional explanations of consciousness.

What people think of as the stream of consciousness is not a single, unified sequence, the author argues, but 'multiple drafts' of reality composed by a computer-like 'virtual machine'.

Dennett explains how science has exploded the classic mysteries of consciousness: the nature of introspection, the self or ego and its relation to thoughts and sensations, the problems posed by qualia, and the level of consciousness of non-human creatures.

'Brilliant ... a torrent of stimulating thought'

  Richard Dawkins

'Revolutionary ... one of the most mentally agile, intellectually resourceful books you are likely to read'

   Guardian

'A masterful tapestry of deep insights ... Dennett has written a profound and important book that is also clear, exciting and witty'

   Douglas R. Hofstadter, author of Gödel, Escher, Bach

'Extraordinary ... supremely engaging and witty'

   Independent

'Dennett's exposition is nothing short of brilliant, the best example I've seen of a science book aimed at both professionals and general readers'

   The New York Times Book Review

Daniel C. Dennett is one of the most original and provocative thinkers in the world. A brilliant polemicist and philosopher, he is famous for challenging unexamined orthodoxies, and an outspoken supporter of the Brights movement. His books include Brainstorms, Brainchildren, Elbow Room, Breaking the Spell, Darwin's Dangerous Idea and Freedom Evolves.

Reviews

Klein's ideas about children, along with her many innovations in adult therapy, placed her in the top ranks of a group of 20th-century psychoanalysts who pioneered the study of early childhood psychology

—— Boston Globe

[A] seminal psychoanalytic thinker

—— New York Times

Rose introduces each topic with skill and clarity

—— Guardian

Exceptionally well-written...a fascinating account of the current state of play in the neurosciences

—— Times Higher Educational Supplement

Compelling... The job of demystifying science is completed with style, jargon-free and elegantly written

—— Oliver Robinson , Observer

Fascinating and engaging

—— Sunday Times

Your One Wild and Precious Life . . . will transform your thinking

—— Irish Farmers Journal

It reframed so much for me

—— Aoibhín Garrihy

The rotund nature of the work makes it feel like a foundational text, accessible to anyone who seeks to know more about themselves and something any trainee psychologist would enjoy. It astutely examines how attachments to people or patterns can speed up, stunt or spark our growth, and, most importantly, what we can do about it.

No matter where you locate yourself in this book there's an energy to the prose that makes it a fascinating read.

But if every love story is a ghost story, as David Foster Wallace says, then Gaffney's new book resurrects your original love story and the ghost that it conjures. She provides instructions on how to vanquish the past and understand connection, so a new cycle of living is possible.

This book is a powerful reminder that history does not have to dictate our future if we can, somehow, amid the chaos of life, listen now and again.

—— Orla Tinsley , Irish Times

This book is a practical guide to making the most of our lives, within a revised framework, at every stage.

—— Anne Cunningham , The Anglo-Celt

Gaffney invariably gets to the core of things and always seems to talk to one directly. If she has a recipe for facing the next stage in life, it's going to be one worth trying

—— Orna Mulcahy , The Gloss

An expertly organised tour through life

—— Irish Times

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