Conversations on consciousness what the best minds think about the brain, free will, and what it means to be human ; [interviews

This is an interesting book allright. Blackmore is well aware that many important people are missing in this book, but it was never intended to be an encyclopedia of conciousness research. It was intended to be a fresh, simple introduction to the views some philosophers and scientists have on the problems of consiousness, and in this I believe it succeeds. It is certainly not to be read as a definitive source on the views of the various people interviewed. However, it was a refreshing read. And for those who are familiar with the authors extense works, but were perplexed by the complexity of extravagant philosophizing, this little book will be very welcome. By focusing on simple questions, such as "are zombies possible?", or "what is the hard problem?", Blackmore succeeds in focusing the discussions quite nicely. Of course, it would have been very interesting to ask other questions, about the knowledge argument, or blindsight, among many others. But of course, the same ways some important people had to be left out, some important questions had to be ommited. I believe the greatest defect in this book is not the selection of interviews, but the fact that some interviews seem to be quite old, and therefore, the views expressed might not be similar to those in some of the philosphers more current work. This happens, for example in Dennetts chapter. Antoher complain might be Blackmores insistance in asking about free will, only to guide the interview towards her determinist view and supposedly peaceful aceptance of it. Her repetitive mentioning of meditation and such is understandable, given her background, and does offer some intereting discussions (with Metzinger, Varela, for example). But again, the reader might be anoyed by the way she asks about the hard problem and the explanatory gap, where she takes their validity for granted and fails to remain objective in those discussions. It is also quite engaging to find out what many answer when asked about zombies or free will. Although at times the answer is unsurprising (Chalmers or Wegner), in others the aswers are really unexpected. However, Blackmore fails to specify the epistemic, cognitive or metaphysical sense in which she asks wether zombies are or not possible. And also fails to ask what the response given means for physicalism, or dualism, or functionalism. These would have been exellent follow up questions. This book cannot be used as a stand-alone reference for professional philosophers or scientists. However, it will be an entretaing read for them, and a great introduction for the general public as well. For the hardcore followers of the consicousness debate, hearing from the authors themselves, after reading their original works, is an opportunity not to be missed. "Human brains are just the most complicated thing that's yet evolved, and we're trying to understand them using our brains," notes philosopher Daniel Dennett. "We're trying to reverse engineer ourselves, to understand what kind of a machine we are." In Conversations on Consciousness, Susan Blackmore brings together some of the great minds of our time, a who's who of eminent thinkers, all of whom have devoted much of their lives to understanding "what kind of a machine we are." Some of the interviewees are major philosophers (such as John Searle, Ned Block, and David Chalmers) and some are equally renowned scientists (Francis Crick, Roger Penrose, V.S. Ramachandran). All of them talk candidly with Blackmore about some of the key philosophical issues confronting us, in a series of conversations that are revealing, insightful, and stimulating. They ruminate on the nature of consciousness--is it something apart from the brain? Is it even possible to understand the brain, to understand human consciousness? Some of these thinkers say no, it isn't possible, but most believe that we will pierce the mystery surrounding consciousness, and that neuroscience will provide the key. Blackmore goes beyond the issue of consciousness to ask other intriguing questions: Is there free will (a question which yields many conflicted replies, with most saying yes and no); if no, how does this effect the way you live your life; and more broadly, how has your work changed the way you live. Ranging from the curious (do bees have consciousness?) to the profound (is our sense of having a self just an illusion), these provocative conversations illuminate current thinking on the mind and on human nature itself "Conversations on Consciousness" is just that - a series of twenty lively and challenging conversations between Sue Blackmore and some of the world's leading philosophers and scientists. Written in a colloquial and engaging style, the book records the conversations Sue had when she met these influential thinkers, whether at conferences in Arizona or Antwerp, or in their labs or homes in Oxford or San Diego. The conversations bring out their very different personalities and styles and reveal a wealth of fascinating detail about their theories and beliefs. Why is consciousness such a special and difficult issue for twenty-first century science? Sue, herself a researcher into this controversial and difficult topic, begins by asking each of her colleagues this simple question and is immediately plunged into the depths of the debate: how do the subjective experiences we call consciousness arise from the physical brain? Is this even the right question to ask? Can zombies - people who behave outwardly just like others but have no inner mental life - exist? What can dreams tell us about consciousness? Should we all be learning to meditate?; Do we have free will, and if not is it possible to live without it? With an introduction setting out the broad structure of the debate on consciousness, and an extensive glossary, this book provides an engaging and accessible account of the most challenging problem of all, through the words of some of the leading figures involved in seeking to solve it In Conversations on Consciousness, Susan Blackmore interviews some of the great minds of our time, a who's who of eminent thinkers, all of whom have devoted much of their lives to understanding the concept of consciousness. The interviewees, ranging from major philosophers to renowned scientists, talk candidly with Blackmore about some of the key philosophical issues confronting us in a series of conversations that are revealing, insightful, and stimulating. They ruminate on the nature of consciousness (is it something apart from the brain?) and discuss if it is even possible to understand the human mind. Some of these thinkers say no, but most believe that we will pierce the mystery surrounding consciousness, and that neuroscience will provide the key. Blackmore goes beyond the issue of consciousness to ask other intriguing questions: Is there free will? (A question which yields many conflicted replies, with most saying yes and no.) If not, how does this effect the way you live your life; and more broadly, how has your work changed the way you live? Paired with an introduction and extensive glossary that provide helpful background information, these provocative conversations illuminate how some of the greatest minds tackle some of the most difficult questions about human nature. In Conversations on Consciousness, Susan Blackmore interviews some of the great minds of our time, a who's who of eminent thinkers, all of whom have devoted much of their lives to understanding the concept of consciousness. The interviewees, ranging from major philosophers to renowned scientists, talk with Blackmore about some of the key philosophical issues confronting us in a series of conversations. They ruminate on the nature of consciousness (is it something apart from the brain?) and discuss if it is even possible to understand the human mind. Some of these thinkers say no, but most believe that we will pierce the mystery surrounding consciousness, and that neuroscience will provide the key. Blackmore goes beyond the issue of consciousness to ask other intriguing questions: Is there free will? (A question which yields many conflicted replies, with most saying yes and no.) If not, how does this effect the way you live your life; and more broadly, how has your work changed the way you live? --From publisher's description Blackmore explores the big questions on the nature of brains, minds, and consciousness, through twenty lively and engaging interviews with some of the best-known personalities from the worlds of science and philosophy. - ;A delightful collection of interviews with 20 famous names in the study of consciousness. Sue Blackmore, herself a writer on consciousness, engages in conversation with each of these very different personalities, drawing out their views on the nature of the mind, on how what goes on in the network of neurons in the brain produces our vivid experiences, and whether we have fre Interviews With Twenty Minds. Bernard Baars -- Ned Block -- David Chalmers -- Patricia And Paul Churchland -- Francis Crick -- Daniel Dennett -- Susan Greenfield -- Richard Gregory -- Stuart Hameroff -- Christof Koch -- Stephen Laberge -- Thomas Metzinger -- Kevin O'regan -- Roger Penrose -- Vilayanur Ramachandran -- John Searle -- Petra Stoerig -- Francisco Varela -- Max Velmans -- Daniel Wegner. Susan Blackmore. Interviews. Includes Index. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.