Consciousness: A Very Short Introduction
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- Author：Susan Blackmore
- ISBN：0198794738
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Summary
Consciousness， the last great mystery for science， remains a hot topic。 How can a physical brain create our experience of the world？ What creates our identity？ Do we really have free will？ Could consciousness itself be an illusion？
Exciting new developments in brain science are continuing the debates on these issues， and the field has now expanded to include biologists， neuroscientists， psychologists， and philosophers。 This controversial book clarifies the potentially confusing arguments， and the major theories， whilst also
outlining the amazing pace of discoveries in neuroscience。 Covering areas such as the construction of self in the brain， mechanisms of attention， the neural correlates of consciousness， and the physiology of altered states of consciousness， Susan Blackmore highlights our latest findings。
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area。 These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly。 Our expert authors combine facts， analysis， perspective， new ideas， and
enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable。
Exciting new developments in brain science are continuing the debates on these issues， and the field has now expanded to include biologists， neuroscientists， psychologists， and philosophers。 This controversial book clarifies the potentially confusing arguments， and the major theories， whilst also
outlining the amazing pace of discoveries in neuroscience。 Covering areas such as the construction of self in the brain， mechanisms of attention， the neural correlates of consciousness， and the physiology of altered states of consciousness， Susan Blackmore highlights our latest findings。
ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area。 These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly。 Our expert authors combine facts， analysis， perspective， new ideas， and
enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable。
Reviews
Hiba Chiheb
，
موضوع متشعب وصعب يحتاج لقاعدة معلومات كبيرة مسبقة لخوض تجربة القراءة لذا لا يمكن تقييمه في الوقت الحالي
Gamal Mohamed
，
أحب أبشرك لن تفهم شئ عن الوعى من قرأتك الكتاب الكاتبة تطرح أسئلة وتسرد نظريات مختلفة بشكل مختصر عن الوعى والذات والارادة الحرة وثنائية الجسد والروحثم تقول فى الصفحة 116: إن دراسة الوعى ليست متطورة بالقدر الكافى للإجابة عن تلك الأسئلة ما أثار حفيظتى من الكتاب أنه بعد كم " لا نعلم" و " لايوجد دليل" خلصت الكاتبة لنتيجة فى أخر الكتاب بأن الوعى وهم وأنه لا توجد ثنائية هكذا بدون دليل وبرغم اعترافها بأن الدراسات غير متطورة للجزم بذلك أحب أبشرك لن تفهم شئ عن الوعى من قرأتك الكتاب الكاتبة تطرح أسئلة وتسرد نظريات مختلفة بشكل مختصر عن الوعى والذات والارادة الحرة وثنائية الجسد والروحثم تقول فى الصفحة 116: إن دراسة الوعى ليست متطورة بالقدر الكافى للإجابة عن تلك الأسئلة ما أثار حفيظتى من الكتاب أنه بعد كم " لا نعلم" و " لايوجد دليل" خلصت الكاتبة لنتيجة فى أخر الكتاب بأن الوعى وهم وأنه لا توجد ثنائية هكذا بدون دليل وبرغم اعترافها بأن الدراسات غير متطورة للجزم بذلك 。。。more
Hira
，
It's simple and easy to read。 It covers various topics and is briefly explained。 It's simple and easy to read。 It covers various topics and is briefly explained。 。。。more
Denis Romanovsky
，
This book overviews all older and recent theories related to consciousness。 It covers many things， but in a too shallow way for me。 Still， this is a good start for the very complicated topic。
Youssef Abouelela
，
كتاب جميل تخصصي شوية مش كلام عام قوي ملخص قريب
Jon
，
I share other Goodreads reviewers irritation that instead of being an introduction to theories of consciousness， as it claims to be， this book actually examines such theories only to dismiss them in favor of the author's own。 It is very clearly written， with many examples of ingenious scientific investigations into consciousness and altered states of consciousness， examples which I assume are fairly presented。 She is very thorough in her discussions of what areas of the brain are responsible for I share other Goodreads reviewers irritation that instead of being an introduction to theories of consciousness， as it claims to be， this book actually examines such theories only to dismiss them in favor of the author's own。 It is very clearly written， with many examples of ingenious scientific investigations into consciousness and altered states of consciousness， examples which I assume are fairly presented。 She is very thorough in her discussions of what areas of the brain are responsible for what activities。 But she quickly comes down to her own view: animals are not conscious; humans are only intermittently and briefly conscious when they are asked to attend to the question "Are you conscious now？" Our concept of a continuously aware self， an "I"， a soul， or a mind， is an illusion brought on by the mutual actions of intelligence， perception， thinking， self-concept， language， and internal modelling。 There is no "me"， therefore there is also no entity to exercise free will。 She only gives a half a page to the idea that language may have forced this illusion upon us， forcing us to think in terms of I， you， and them。 Grammar reinforces the illusion every time we speak。 The logical consequences of all this （if it is true）--on moral or legal responsibility， the formation of societies， our leading our daily lives in any meaningful way， and the nature of meaning itself are of little interest to her。 。。。more
إيم
，
ملخص ماتع👌🏻
Anniek
，
Heel erg interessant！ Wel alleen als je een basiskennis en interesse hebt richting bewustzijn， op zowel filosofisch als biologisch vlak。 Veel theorieën en voorbeelden passeren de revue。 De auteur laat het duidelijk weten wanneer ze haar eigen mening laat horen en portretteert het niet als 'de waarheid'， iets wat ik waardeer in boeken over onderwerpen waar verschillende theorieën spelen。 Heel erg interessant！ Wel alleen als je een basiskennis en interesse hebt richting bewustzijn， op zowel filosofisch als biologisch vlak。 Veel theorieën en voorbeelden passeren de revue。 De auteur laat het duidelijk weten wanneer ze haar eigen mening laat horen en portretteert het niet als 'de waarheid'， iets wat ik waardeer in boeken over onderwerpen waar verschillende theorieën spelen。 。。。more
Mosaed Al-Rumman
，
منشأ إشكالية الوعي هو محاولة لتجاوز فكرة أو إنكار الذات العليا او الروح للإنسان الكتاب جيد جدا وهو مقدمة ممتازة لمن أراد الانطلاق في رحلة التفكر في الانسانوقد أمرنا الله بالتفكر في أنفسنا
Areej
，
لمن اتمكن من اكماله。。。。。。 اعلم انه كتاب علمي。。。。 لكن طريقة عرض الأفكار والسرد。。。。 متعبة ومششتته ذهنيا。。。
أحلام
，
كتاب ممتع ويثير المزيد من الأسئلة
Slux
，
Liked it as short overview of the subject。 Touches on various aspects and theories while the author does also make it clear what she sees as more likely to be correct。 Really needless to say but probably not that useful if you've already deeply studied the topic。 Provides references to many books & articles for diving deeper into particular subjects。 Liked it as short overview of the subject。 Touches on various aspects and theories while the author does also make it clear what she sees as more likely to be correct。 Really needless to say but probably not that useful if you've already deeply studied the topic。 Provides references to many books & articles for diving deeper into particular subjects。 。。。more
William Childers
，
A short introduction to a “science of consciousness” at the intersection of psychology and philosophy。 Blackmore cogently presents the “common sense” understanding of consciousness – the mind-body duality and the related “private theater” model – and examines challenges from psychology and neuroscience。 But she is tone-deaf to the possible consequences of “altered states” – drug-induced or otherwise –for a non-reductive critique of the normative assumption of bourgeois individualism as the ess A short introduction to a “science of consciousness” at the intersection of psychology and philosophy。 Blackmore cogently presents the “common sense” understanding of consciousness – the mind-body duality and the related “private theater” model – and examines challenges from psychology and neuroscience。 But she is tone-deaf to the possible consequences of “altered states” – drug-induced or otherwise –for a non-reductive critique of the normative assumption of bourgeois individualism as the essence of consciousness。 The consciousness-without-self of Zen Buddhism is acknowledged， and similar lip service is paid to the notion that consciousness is in some sense an “echo” of language and syntax in the mind， allowing us to hold up a mirror to our own existence in time， and thereby fashion a self。 But this view is never discussed further， and the possibilities for intersubjective consciousness implied by this dependence on language are left entirely unexamined。 The result is that consciousness is either the soul imprisoned in the body or， basically， nothing， a delusion。 In the process of demolishing the vanity of ego-driven models of consciousness， the cultural baby is thrown out with the metaphysical bathwater。 I’m left wondering whether anyone working in the field Blackmore is surveying here is looking under the stones she leaves unturned。 The answer to that question， obviously， isn’t here。 。。。more
KR15
，
Biased。
Robert
，
I’m disappointed with Susan Blackmore’s very short introduction to the subject of Consciousness。 It’s not what I expected for an introductory book to the subject。 It’s not that the author doesn’t describe some sound scientific studies， some of them are both very interesting and enlightening， however you have to understand from the outset that Susan Blackmore is not presenting a neutral view of the subject matter。 It is biased to the theories with which she agrees while dismissing other scientifi I’m disappointed with Susan Blackmore’s very short introduction to the subject of Consciousness。 It’s not what I expected for an introductory book to the subject。 It’s not that the author doesn’t describe some sound scientific studies， some of them are both very interesting and enlightening， however you have to understand from the outset that Susan Blackmore is not presenting a neutral view of the subject matter。 It is biased to the theories with which she agrees while dismissing other scientific alternatives。For me， my main dissatisfaction with this book is that I would expect an introduction to Consciousness to give a proper overview of the main opposing arguments on the subject and delve objectively into each， even if the book is only a brief introduction。 Instead what the author gives you is an overview of the main studies regarding consciousness that support her views， or at least data that can be interpreted in a particular way to support her way of thinking about consciousness while dismissing alternative interpretations without good reasoning。 Therefore this book is narrow in scope and ultimately Susan Blackmore poorly argues that our consciousness is a “grand delusion”， a position that she jumps to without adequate development， and in the final chapter she presents this opinion as if it is certain， proven fact。 The nature of consciousness is still a subject of which very little is known for certain， it is subjective and internal to each individual and so difficult to study。 There are still far more unknowns than certainties in this field of science。 This has enabled Susan to cherry pick studies that suit her own bias giving very little page room for opposing hypotheses。 So in the end this book is a disappointment， I’m sure this book is great for when Susan is preaching to the already converted people who align with her position。 However， as a layperson wanting an introduction to this field of study， I would like to read a more objective stance， encompassing far more views than just this。 That way， I could try to make sense of the various theories and evidence on this subject matter objectively and come to a position on it。 If you are interested in all the main current reasonable scientific theories on this vast subject then you will need to read elsewhere。 。。。more
Ibrahim Isaac
，
كتاب بسيط ولغته سهلة لغير المختصين يقدم مقدمة غنية جداً عن موضوع الوعي وكل ما نعرفه بخصوصه。
Kris Demey
，
As some of you may know， Language， the Brain’s capacity for language and thought and ultimately Consciousness is one of those big questions that occupy my thoughts a lot。So this book has helped clarify and progress my thoughts on this elusive subject。
Olof Malmström
，
Blackmore seems to waver in her philosophical positions。 She criticises Religion as well as Mysticism in general， yet finds the ideas of Buddhism compelling。 She dismisses Man’s preoccupation with his Self， his I， as nonscientific and erroneous， yet gives clear evidence that self-awareness is one of the major indicators of Intelligence in animal Life。 Sometimes she claims that Consciousness does not exist， that it’s an illusion， yet at other times she speaks of Consciousness as though it had a c Blackmore seems to waver in her philosophical positions。 She criticises Religion as well as Mysticism in general， yet finds the ideas of Buddhism compelling。 She dismisses Man’s preoccupation with his Self， his I， as nonscientific and erroneous， yet gives clear evidence that self-awareness is one of the major indicators of Intelligence in animal Life。 Sometimes she claims that Consciousness does not exist， that it’s an illusion， yet at other times she speaks of Consciousness as though it had a clear and obvious meaning。 An interesting read overall， although I wasn’t fully persuaded by her way of reasoning。 。。。more
Osama Ebrahem
，
الكتاب ممل ولم يفيدني بشئ عن الوعي فكل سؤال يطرحه الكتاب يتم الاجابة عنه بنظربات وافكار ولكن تجد الكاتبة في نهاية الفصل تقول لك ان تلك اتجارب غير مؤكدة وان هذا السؤال ليس له اجابة طيب لو السؤال ملهوش اجابة بتطرحيه لي للقارئ وباقي الكتاب يوجد به بعض التجارب والملاحظات اليومية المعروفة عن الوعي
Solafa Mahmoud
，
كان السؤال الذي يتردد في عقلي طوال قراءة هذا الكتاب، أنه كيف لوعي تقييم نفسه، فالمجنون يعتقد أنه على صواب، والعاقل يرى أنه على صواب، كٌلٍ وفق الحالة الشعورية التي يعيشها。 من كان لديه الشغف في معرفة ماهية الوعي وتعريفًا واضحًا له لن يحب هذا الكتاب، أما من أراد معرفة نظريات العلماء عن ماهية الوعي وكيف توصلوا إلى هذه النظريات،ويهتمون بجمع أكثر من رأي عن الموضوع الواحد سيعجبهم جدًا هذا الكتاب。وفي النهاية الجملة الأنسب لتقييم هذا الكتاب هي آية في القرآن تقول（ وما أوتيتم من العلم إلا قليلا）
Seth Benzell
，
I enjoyed this refresher on some basic 'philosophy of mind' material。 Obviously not everything can be covered in such a short book， but I wish more time had been spent on embodiment， idealism， and pansychism -- the last in particular。 The book is spicy in that the author takes a view from the beginning she defines as "delusionism" the idea that consciousness （or at least what we normally think of as consciousness） is a delusion。 Now， to me， calling consciousness itself an illusion or delusion is I enjoyed this refresher on some basic 'philosophy of mind' material。 Obviously not everything can be covered in such a short book， but I wish more time had been spent on embodiment， idealism， and pansychism -- the last in particular。 The book is spicy in that the author takes a view from the beginning she defines as "delusionism" the idea that consciousness （or at least what we normally think of as consciousness） is a delusion。 Now， to me， calling consciousness itself an illusion or delusion is question begging （what is the agent who is misled？） but I am certainly sympathetic to the idea that the lay-conception of individual identity is seriously flawed （Parfait perhaps makes the best version of this argument）。 I don't find particularly persuasive evidence from meditation about this: why should I be surprised （or should it be an argument against traditional theories of mind） that if I --use my conscious will -- to egnage in meditative practice over and over again that I can have a different sort of conscious experience？ Overall I do like the fact that the author takes a stand， but I found the last chapter， which I hoped would provide a full explanation， highly unsatisfying。 It concludes that 'of course' -- experiences -- exist， but says consciousness does not。 Waaa？ I wish the author had more time to explain how she squares this circle， because right now it just seems like she's shifting the hard problem one concept over （from 'consciousness' to 'experience'）。 。。。more
Daniel
，
It's an interesting introduction to the hard problem of consciousness， with the obligatory detours into free will （itself a topic of another VSI - Free Will: A Very Short Introduction）。 Obviously the problem remains unsolved， with all the widely varying "solutions" having their own difficulties。 But it's enjoyable to read about what makes the problem a problem （short answer: because the religious non-answer keeps not being demonstrated by science）。 It's a shame I won't get to live another 500 ye It's an interesting introduction to the hard problem of consciousness， with the obligatory detours into free will （itself a topic of another VSI - Free Will: A Very Short Introduction）。 Obviously the problem remains unsolved， with all the widely varying "solutions" having their own difficulties。 But it's enjoyable to read about what makes the problem a problem （short answer: because the religious non-answer keeps not being demonstrated by science）。 It's a shame I won't get to live another 500 years， when science might finally get on top of it。 For now I'll just have to go on living as if I am conscious， while everything scientists keep learning about the brain makes that impression less and less based in reality。Blackmore mentions how difficult it is for humans to abandon our subjective certainty that we are conscious agents， and then perhaps inadvertently she demonstrates the difficulty in this passage:"When we see that all our behaviour comes from our genes， memes， upbringing， and circumstances， retribution becomes senseless。 Rather than punishing people because they are bad， we would ask what good it would do。"But we would only ask what good it would do if we have something like free will - so we can reflect on our actions and choose to do otherwise。 If， instead， all our behavior comes from our genes， memes， upbringing， and circumstances， then it makes no more sense to question why we punish people than for the people we punish to question whatever they do that makes us want to punish them。 That is， if they can't help what they do to us， then how can we any more help what we do to them in response？ If we take away free will， the system of punitive justice is hardly threatened - rather， any attempts to reform it go out the window， right along with agency。 For someone to reform justice， to make justice less punitive， it must be the case that the people who control justice have more freedom than the people who run afoul of justice。 But if nobody has freedom， because free will is an illusion， then the people who dispense punishment are no more in control of their actions than any criminal is。Of course as these arguments about free will come up， they become just another potential influence thrown into the mix of memes and circumstances。 So it may well be that an idea about free will could change the way justice works - but this would not be out of any logical necessity， because killing off free will excuses everyone， not just the criminals。 In other words， for the death of free will to benefit criminals at the expense of their victims， it has to be incompletely understood and therefore selectively applied。 And for some strange reason that seems to be the dominant view - as if justice is some sort of impartial system which itself has more agency than the individual humans who operate it and vote for it。So while it may feel we are asking ourselves what good punishing criminals might do， if free will is an illusion， then our whole discussion about how we should treat criminals is also an illusion。 How can we be sure our minds haven't already decided what to do， as a function of our genes， upbringing， memes， and circumstances， and then our brains are simply confabulating reasons for us to be doing what we would do anyway？ 。。。more
Thomas Moulson
，
Do you experience your dreams？ Not really no。 You’re asleep and unaware， plus it’s just memories dancing。 Well that’s what consciousness is too， Blackmore Shepard’s us to this understanding。 I guess it needn’t be daunting that we’re just biological mechanisms and our egos are temporal illusions - who actually thought otherwise？ Full of facts and hypothesis to gently shake us awake to this mortal coil from millennia of religious dreaming。
Joshua Anderson
，
I bought this book to carry with me at work and to read during down times here and there。 For me， reading 2-3 pages a week did not make for a great reading or continuity experience。 I then devoted more of my attention to reading it and I’m glad I did。 Most of what I read was difficult to digest， even-though it’s a “very short introduction。” Difficult does not mean unpleasant or boring， but quite the opposite; I would take many breaks to let what I read sink in， perform some of the experiments li I bought this book to carry with me at work and to read during down times here and there。 For me， reading 2-3 pages a week did not make for a great reading or continuity experience。 I then devoted more of my attention to reading it and I’m glad I did。 Most of what I read was difficult to digest， even-though it’s a “very short introduction。” Difficult does not mean unpleasant or boring， but quite the opposite; I would take many breaks to let what I read sink in， perform some of the experiments like the “cutaneous rabbit illusion，” and then work through thought experiments with my wife to see what we both thought， like with the teletransporter/inner-self。 Even though I just read it I’m already looking forward to picking it up again， to find other books on the subject the author recommends， and find even more of these Oxford “Very Short Introductions。” 。。。more
Jason
，
This is a great and concise little book， as is all the other titles I've read from the "Very Short Introduction" series。 Each chapter gives the essence of the topic and doesn't run off on tangents。 I would definitely recommend this as a good starting point if one is unfamiliar with the vast subject of consciousness （as well as the rest of Blackmore's books and videos）。 This is a great and concise little book， as is all the other titles I've read from the "Very Short Introduction" series。 Each chapter gives the essence of the topic and doesn't run off on tangents。 I would definitely recommend this as a good starting point if one is unfamiliar with the vast subject of consciousness （as well as the rest of Blackmore's books and videos）。 。。。more
DRugh
，
A book for questioning assumptions。
Valerie
，
I read this on impulse because I couldn't sleep and it was so relaxing to read something I don't need to have an opinion on。 What is consciousness？ Does the self exist？ Is free will merely an illusion？ Don't know， don't care！ It's got nothing to do with me！ It literally doesn't matter and has no bearing on my life！ I'm at peace。 I read this on impulse because I couldn't sleep and it was so relaxing to read something I don't need to have an opinion on。 What is consciousness？ Does the self exist？ Is free will merely an illusion？ Don't know， don't care！ It's got nothing to do with me！ It literally doesn't matter and has no bearing on my life！ I'm at peace。 。。。more
Wedyan
，
كان عرض لجميع الأفكار والنظريات المتعلقه بمفهوم الوعي ، القديم منها والجديد ، وبذلك يتم تحفيز القارئ للتفكير في الأمر ،بالأخص بعد ما تم توضيح أنه فهمنا للوعي بالطريقه الكامله والصحيحه لم يكتمل بعد ، فالأمر لا يزال أشبه باللغز الذي ينتظر الحل 。
لم الخوف؟
，
يبدأ هذا الكتاب بسؤال كنا نظنه بسيط جداً إلى درجة أنه لا يستحق النظر فيه。。لكن سوزان أبدت ملاحظات رائعة جداً بشأن هذا المجالوتركتنا محملين بالعديد من التساؤلات。。بشأن هذا المفهوم。。لغة الكتاب موضوعية بحتة مع نزعة الحادية عبثية طفيفة جداًولا أعلم حقيقة إن كانت الترجمة أم لغة الكاتبة بعض المرات。。هي مازادت الموضوع حيرةً؟أم أن هذا ديدن من يتحدث عن الفلسفة ويتأثر بحيثياتها اللغوية！ ففي بعض المرات。。 الصفحة تقرأ مرة واثنتنان دون أن تشكل أي معنى。。
Mostafa
，