The Consciousness Instinct, Michael S. Gazzaniga
The Consciousness Instinct, Michael S. Gazzaniga
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The Consciousness Instinct
Unraveling the Mystery of How the Brain Makes the Mind

Author: Michael S. Gazzaniga

Narrator: David Colacci

Unabridged: 9 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/27/2018

Synopsis

“The father of cognitive neuroscience” illuminates the past, present, and future of the mind-brain problemHow do neurons turn into minds? How does physical “stuff”―atoms, molecules, chemicals, and cells―create the vivid and various worlds inside our heads? The problem of consciousness has gnawed at us for millennia. In the last century there have been massive breakthroughs that have rewritten the science of the brain, and yet the puzzles faced by the ancient Greeks are still present. In The Consciousness Instinct, the neuroscience pioneer Michael S. Gazzaniga puts the latest research in conversation with the history of human thinking about the mind, giving a big-picture view of what science has revealed about consciousness.The idea of the brain as a machine, first proposed centuries ago, has led to assumptions about the relationship between mind and brain that dog scientists and philosophers to this day. Gazzaniga asserts that this model has it backward―brains make machines, but they cannot be reduced to one. New research suggests the brain is actually a confederation of independent modules working together. Understanding how consciousness could emanate from such an organization will help define the future of brain science and artificial intelligence, and close the gap between brain and mind.Captivating and accessible, with insights drawn from a lifetime at the forefront of the field, The Consciousness Instinct sets the course for the neuroscience of tomorrow.

About Michael S. Gazzaniga

Michael S. Gazzaniga is the director of the SAGE Center for the Study of the Mind at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is the president of the Cognitive Neuroscience Institute, the founding director of the MacArthur Foundation’s Law and Neuroscience Project, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Sciences. He is the author of many popular science books, including Tales from Both Sides of the Brain. He lives in California.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Peter on May 21, 2019

This surprising book took me places I had not at all expected to go. Our sense of self, life, the world, and their meaning all rely on consciousness. While we all sort of know what we mean by “consciousness” and can talk loosely about it, we cannot precisely define it. This is not just a matter of s......more

Goodreads review by Francisco M. on May 17, 2021

Un deslumbrante paseo por las ideas que se han barajado para tratar de comprender qué es y dónde diantres está esa cosa que llamamos conciencia, o más precisamente, autoconciencia. Esa ilusión persistente, al igual que el tiempo, que nos da la sensación de ser nosotros mismos y estar separados del m......more

Goodreads review by Jake on July 01, 2019

Good history of consciousnesses studies and introduction to the general scientific perspective on many key topics of Neuroscience. But just like all books in this elusive subject you wont walk away feel any more oriented as to what exactly consciousness is, nevertheless, this was good.......more

Goodreads review by Edwin on November 18, 2019

Contrasting Viewpoints on Consciousness Gazzaniga starts by outlining the major theories on consciousness. There are the reductionists and materialists (e.g. Freud and Galen) that believe that mental states and consciousness arise from material interactions between neurons, atoms, and molecules. The......more

Goodreads review by D on October 07, 2018

This was a hard slog. Not too many take-aways. Consciousness is a mystery - fine. It is ever present and has been since there has been life - interesting, maybe. Not sure if it is confused with 'soul', free-will, human essence, or is all three. You may have better luck. The writing is not bad, it ma......more

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