The Origins of Consciousness
Thoughts of the Crooked-Headed Fly
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Published:27th Sep '24
£35.99
This title is due to be published on 27th September, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
The Origins of Consciousness challenges the dominant view that consciousness is an emergent property of the complex human brain.
Based on his pioneering research on a variety of organisms, Vallortigara argues that the most basic forms of mental life do not require large brains, and that the neurological surplus observed in some animals such as humans is likely at the service of memory storage, not of the processes of thought or, even less, of consciousness. The book argues for a simple neural mechanism that can provide the crucial event that brings into effect the minimum condition for subjective experience. Implications of the hypothesis for the appearance of consciousness in different organisms are discussed, as well as links with a variety of fascinating human phenomena such as disorders of consciousness, tickling, and visual illusions.
Challenging widely accepted theories of consciousness, the book is a must-read for students and researchers of human and animal consciousness.
‘This book by Prof. Vallortigara is a tour de force of a lateral thinker who uses poetry, philosophy, psychology in conjunction with some razor-sharp science to entertain and make us think about such an ephemeral topic as consciousness. His stunning claim: consciousness is present in insects and started when organisms began moving about and had to differentiate between themselves and an external world. Plenty to think about and highly original, erudite, and persuasive.’
Professor Gisela Kaplan, AM University of Queensland, Australia
‘Vallortigara writes like a poet but can think like a fly. His book is a wonderful introduction to the minds of animals with small brains but big horizons. He asks: if so much can be achieved with so little, what can be the advantage of having a massive brain like ours? He proposes a brilliant answer to the question of how – and why – awareness has evolved in some animals to become self-awareness.’
Nicholas Humphrey, Darwin College, Cambridge, UK
‘Drawing on the author’s extensive knowledge and written in an engaging style, this book presents a new perspective on consciousness. By extending the boundaries of conscious sensation well beyond Homo sapiens to consider the abilities of much smaller and simpler organisms, it sheds new light on a much-debated topic.’
Professor Lesley J. Rogers, University of New England, Australia
ISBN: 9781032792125
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
160 pages