The Science of Consciousness: Waking, Sleeping and Dreaming

by Trevor A. Harley

Overview

Consciousness concerns awareness and how we experience the world. How does awareness, a feature of the mental world, arise from the physical brain? Is a dog conscious, or a jellyfish, and what explains the difference? How is consciousness related to psychological processes such as perception and cognition? The Science of Consciousness covers the psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience of consciousness. Written for introductory courses in psychology and philosophy, this text examines consciousness with a special emphasis on current neuroscience research as well as comparisons of normal and damaged brains. The full range of normal and altered states of consciousness, including sleep and dreams, hypnotic and meditative states, anesthesia, and drug-induced states, as well as parapsychological phenomena and their importance for the science of consciousness is covered, as well as the 'higher' states and how we can attain them. Throughout the text attempts to relate consciousness to the brain.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009038294
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	02/18/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	853,208
File size:	91 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Trevor A. Harley is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Dundee and a Fellow of the British Psychological Society. He is the author of The Psychology of Language, 4th edition (2013), Talking the Talk, 2nd edition (2017) and The Psychology of Weather (2018). He is very widely published across psychology, including papers on consciousness and dreams, and has kept a detailed dream diary for several years. He is always wondering what his poodle Beau is thinking about.

Table of Contents

Preface; Part I. The Nature of Consciousness: 1. The Problem of Consciousness; 2. The Mind-Body Problem; 3. Do We Have Free Will?; 4. Machine Consciousness; 5. Animal Consciousness; Part II. The Workings of Consciousness: 6. Looking at our Own Minds; 7. Self and Identity; 8. Cognition and Consciousness; 9. Perception and Consciousness; 10. Consciousness and the Brain; Part III. Other States of Consciousness: 11. Altered States of Consciousness; 12. Sleep; 13. Dreams; 14. Hypnosis; 15. Drugs and Consciousness; 16. Meditation and Transcendental Experiences; 17. Parapsychology; 18. Bringing it all Together; Glossaries; List of Abbreviations; References; Index.

Editorial Reviews

‘A remarkable achievement that is underwritten by an encyclopaedic knowledge of the field. I can see this being the Gray’s Anatomy of consciousness studies - a book that every philosophy and psychology student will treasure for years.’ Karl Friston, University College London

‘Highlighting interdisciplinary approaches to the study of consciousness, this book provides a thorough, historical, and detailed study of the nature of the mind and consciousness. The wide variety of topics allow for a creative and unique exploration of the study of consciousness today.’ Consuelo Preti, The College of New Jersey

‘Finally, a brilliantly written, accessible, and accurate synthesis on one of science’s biggest taboos: the study of consciousness. There is no topic avoided by Trevor Harley: animal versus machine consciousness, coma, psychedelics, meditation, our sense of self, even psychism, are all covered. It is the authoritative text all students and researchers have been waiting for.’ Steven Laureys, University Hospital of Liège

From the Publisher