The Major Unsolved Problem in
Biology:
Three books try to explain consciousness
Scientific American.
March 2004
Extract from review by Michael Shermer
...
The body of literature attempting to solve this problem is extensive,
and getting one's mind around the field is a herculean task
successfully executed by psychologist Susan Blackmore in her
delightful introduction, Consciousness. Presented as a
textbook, it is so highly engaging that I recommend it for general
readers, too. In many ways, the book is structured like a brain, with
loads of independent modules (boxes and sidebars featuring profiles,
concepts and activities) tied together by a flowing narrative and
integrated into a conceptual whole.
... Dualists hold that qualia are separate from physical objects in
the world and that mind is more than brain. Materialists contend that
qualia are ultimately explicable through the activities of neurons and
that mind and brain are one. Blackmore, uniquely qualified to assess
all comers (she sports multihued hair, is a devotee of meditation, and
studies altered states of consciousness), allows the myriad theorists
to make their case (including her own meme-centered theory) so that
you can be the judge.
(with the author's permission)
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