Being You

Many theories of consciousness is discussed concisely and clearly. The idea of controlled hallucinations is intresting explained.

Top class by an eminent Indian

A very objective, inclusive and original pursuit to account for the seemingly mysterious phenomenon of consciousness . Very thought provoking and satisfying too.

The book Changed my point view entirely about consciousness... Will keep reading further on this topic... Basian model seem to be key area for further exploration...

Seems like the writer is bragging his English vocabulary instead of explaining his work.

Me llegó muy bien

I really like this authors approach To The Mystery of consciousness. A lot of people seem to hold rather fixed assumptions the author is careful to point out how these assumptions most often mask as much as they contribute to science. He gives a positive affirmation towards the issue of the hard problems of Consciousness David Chalmers laid out in the 1990s. He's not so hasty to throw in this out as it is the most salient feature of our experience more so than reality it's self. But be that as it may he uses a very pragmatic approach and consider the possibility that Consciousness can be one of many different aspects which may be amendable to the scientific method. He also does a wonderful job at constructing the current philosophy around the issues of qualia subjective experience and "what it's like" to be YOU. He believes like other phenomena and other questions in science Consciousness may be analogous to the mysteries of temperature and the Very definition of living things all of which eventually become understood in surprising new ways through the use of measurement.He treats the issues of measurement very carefully in his book since this is the basis of science and our ability to quantify phenomena has had a rather successful track record in solving what was previously a mystery.I do appreciate his approach on the conceivability argument and the thought experiment using the philosophical zombie he's definitely changed my perspective on that key topic.I would put this book right alongside the conscious mind by David Chalmers they both compliment each other and they build upon an understanding of the issue of consciousness that is accessible yet weighty.

A alucinação controlada é o grande modelo sobre a consciência apresentado aqui. Outros modelos também são abordados e explicados de forma bastante compreensível. Não encontrei aqui um texto fluido, com toques de domínio da escrita e do uso palavra, como por vezes encontramos em outros livros de temática técnico-científicas. Mas é absolutamente fascinante entrar em contato com ideias tão incomuns para teorizar sobre nossos pensamentos, nossa mente.

I came across this book via Anil Seth's 1 hr lecture on YouTube for the Royal Institution, covering the same material. I'm glad I purchased it for the greater depth afforded by the written work. I do agree with most of Anil's views, but even so, they are well explained and considered, so I think it's worth reading even if your views differ. (After all, we have no definite answers on the topic!) The core idea (clumsily summarized here by me) of the self as a constructed hallucination for controlling the body is intriguing. Consciousness, and self-consciousness, is one of the great mysteries and I'm glad talented thinkers are tackling the hard problem in practical ways.

I confess that I have a problem with the problem of consciousness: most descriptions implicitly assume that consciousness itself is a well-defined concept. But I’ve never really come across a precise definition that could be a satisfactory starting point for examining it. Wikipedia starts off with “awareness of internal and external existence”; okay, but what is “awareness” in this context? Many definitions assume it is a human property, which begs the question of possible animal consciousness. And so on.In this book on state of the art studies of consciousness, Seth also doesn’t give a precise definition. He is tackling the issue from a somewhat different direction, and describes consciousness as “something that it is like to be you”. Then we can allow for the possibility of animal consciousness: there might be something it is like to be a dog, or a bat, or a mouse, or an octopus, but presumably there is nothing it is like to be a rock, or a river, or a car. Is there something it is like to be a tree, or a carrot, or a bacterium? Could there be something it is like to be a robot?I’m still struggling, though: I’m not really sure what it specifically is like to be me, because I’ve never been anything else, so have nothing to compare it with. Maybe I should just go with “something that it is like to be”?Lack or precise definitions aside, this is an excellent and thought-provoking book. Seth links consciousness to sensing and acting in the world, at many different levels. Essentially, the brain “hallucinates” different possibilities of what is happening, and uses what we sense to choose the best possibility, which can change as we get more sensory input (such as from the world changing, or from us changing things in the world, including our own position in it). This is accompanied by descriptions of a variety of interesting experiments, and leads to possible criteria for detecting consciousness in patients in comas.There is lots of great detail here to back up the various claims, and the model explains senses, actions, emotions, and more. Seth uses this model to argue that machines (robots, computers) can never be conscious, that only “wet” organisms have the essential grounded linkages between their hallucinations, senses, and bodily processes, to be fully conscious. I’m not sure I agree with this conclusion, but it is certainly food for thought.