Enchanted Looms: Conscious Networks in Brains and Computers - Softcover

Cotterill, Rodney

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521794625 ISBN 13: 9780521794626

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2000

Synopsis

The title of this book was inspired by a passage in Charles Sherrington's Man on his Nature. When that famous physiologist died in 1952, the prospects for a scientific explanation of consciousness seemed remote. Enchanted Looms shows how the situation has changed dramatically over the past forty years, and provides what is probably the most wide-ranging account of the phenomenon ever written. Rodney Cotterill bridges the gap between the bottom-up approach to understanding consciousness, anchored in the brain's biochemistry, anatomy and physiology, and the top-down strategy, which concerns itself with behavior and the nervous system's interaction with the environment. He argues that an explanation of consciousness is now at hand, and extends the discussion to include intelligence and creativity, unlike other books on the subject. This beautifully written and illustrated book will be valued for its provocative approach to one of science's last great challenges. Enchanted Looms will change forever our view of consciousness and our concept of the human being.

About this title

Book Description:

Enchanted Looms presents an explanation of consciousness in the human brain, based on known anatomy and physiology, and it shows how consciousness arose during evolution. It also argues that it will soon be possible to create consciousness in computers. This beautifully written and illustrated book will be valued by scientists and general readers alike for its easy access to one of science's last great challenges. It will change forever our view of consciousness, and our concept of the human being.

Review:

"The book is well structured, moving easily between anatomical detail, functional theories, methodologies and the analyses of others, making it mandatory reading for those considering doing research on this topic." Times Higher Education Supplement

"In both its details and in overall execution this is a very exciting book. The author substantiates his claim that consciousness and mind are best explained as motor-system functions." The Quarterly Review of Biology

"What is so wonderful about Cotterill's thesis is that he provides a simple yet powerful definition ... worthwile." Journal of the History of the Neurosciences

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0521794625
• ISBN 13: 9780521794626
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 524