The Evolution of Consciousness: Representing the Present Moment (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9781350166783)

The Evolution of Consciousnessbrings together interdisciplinary insights from philosophy, neuroscience, psychology and cognitive science to explain consciousness in terms of the biological function that grounds it in the physical world.

Drawing on the novel analogy of a house of cards, Paula Droege pieces together various conceptual questions and shows how they rest on each other to form a coherent, structured argument. She asserts that the mind is composed of unconscious sensory and cognitive representations, which become conscious when they are selected and coordinated into a representation of the present moment. This temporal representation theory deftly bridges the gap between mind and body by highlighting that physical systems are conscious when they can respond flexibly to actions in the present. With examples from evolution, animal cognition, introspection and the free will debate, this is a compelling and animated account of the possible explanations of consciousness, offering answers to the conceptual question of how consciousness can be considered a cognitive process.

Author: Paula Droege
ISBN-10: 1350166782
ISBN-13: 9781350166783
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Language: English
Published: 12/02/2021
Pages: 256
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 1.17lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.63d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 11/01/2022