The Crucible of Consciousness: An Integrated Theory of Mind and Brain (The MIT Press)

''Torey's way of putting things sheds new light on just what is going on in the 'computational' brain, since he has to find alternative metaphors to stand in for the now somewhat overworked comparison with computers. Just as poets often find that the constraints of rhyme and meter force them to discover strikingly apt expressions of their thoughts, it turns out that couching a computational theory of the mind in resolutely noncomputational terms pays dividends. There is much to repay readers in this book: to the uninitiated, it is a graceful and wise introduction to many of the central problems and arguments; to the veterans, it is a quite bountiful source of arrestingly different slants on familiar topics.''—Daniel C. Dennett, Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies, Tufts University and author of Sweet DreamsIn The Crucible of Consciousness, Zoltan Torey offers a theory of the mind and its central role in evolution. He traces the evolutionary breakthrough that rendered the brain accessible to itself and shows how the mind-boosted brain works. He identifies what it is that separates the human's self-reflective consciousness from mere animal awareness, and he maps its neural and linguistic underpinnings. And he argues, controversially, that the neural technicalities of reflective awareness can be neither algorithmic nor spiritual—neither a computer nor a ghost in the machine.The human mind is unique; it is not only the epicenter of our knowledge but also the outer limit of our intellectual reach. Not to solve the riddle of the self-aware mind, writes Torey, goes against the evolutionary thrust that created it. Torey proposes a model that brings into a single focus all the elements that make up the puzzle: how the brain works, its functional components and their interactions; how language evolved and how syntax evolved out of the semantic substrate by way of neural transactions; and why the mind-endowed brain deceives itself with entelechy-type impressions.Torey first traces the language-linked emergence of the mind, the subsystem of the brain that enables it to be aware of itself. He then explores this system: how consciousness works, why it is not transparent to introspection, and what sense it makes in the context of evolution.The ''consciousness revolution'' and the integrative focus of neuroscience have made it possible to make concrete formerly mysterious ideas about the human mind. Torey's model of the mind is the logical outcome of this, highlighting a coherent and meaningful role for a reflectively aware humanity. In The Crucible of Consciousness , Zoltan Torey offers a theory of the mind and its central role in evolution. He traces the evolutionary breakthrough that rendered the brain accessible to itself and shows how the mind-boosted brain works. He identifies what it is that separates the human's self-reflective consciousness from mere animal awareness, and he maps its neural and linguistic underpinnings. And he argues, controversially, that the neural technicalities of reflective awareness can be neither algorithmic nor spiritual--neither a computer nor a ghost in the machine. The human mind is unique; it is not only the epicenter of our knowledge but also the outer limit of our intellectual reach. Not to solve the riddle of the self-aware mind, writes Torey, goes against the evolutionary thrust that created it. Torey proposes a model that brings into a single focus all the elements that make up the puzzle: how the brain works, its functional components and their interactions; how language evolved and how syntax evolved out of the semantic substrate by way of neural transactions; and why the mind-endowed brain deceives itself with entelechy-type impressions. Torey first traces the language-linked emergence of the mind, the subsystem of the brain that enables it to be aware of itself. He then explores this system: how consciousness works, why it is not transparent to introspection, and what sense it makes in the context of evolution. The "consciousness revolution" and the integrative focus of neuroscience have made it possible to make concrete formerly mysterious ideas about the human mind. Torey's model of the mind is the logical outcome of this, highlighting a coherent and meaningful role for a reflectively aware humanity. An interdisciplinary examination of the evolutionary breakthroughs that rendered the brain accessible to itself. In The Crucible of Consciousness, Zoltan Torey offers a theory of the mind and its central role in evolution. He traces the evolutionary breakthrough that rendered the brain accessible to itself and shows how the mind-boosted brain works. He identifies what it is that separates the human's self-reflective consciousness from mere animal awareness, and he maps its neural and linguistic underpinnings. And he argues, controversially, that the neural technicalities of reflective awareness can be neither algorithmic nor spiritual-neither a computer nor a ghost in the machine. The human mind is unique; it is not only the epicenter of our knowledge but also the outer limit of our intellectual reach. Not to solve the riddle of the self-aware mind, writes Torey, goes against the evolutionary thrust that created it. Torey proposes a model that brings into a single focus all the elements that make up the puzzle: how the brain works, its functional components and their interactions; how language evolved and how syntax evolved out of the semantic substrate by way of neural transactions; and why the mind-endowed brain deceives itself with entelechy-type impressions. Torey first traces the language-linked emergence of the mind, the subsystem of the brain that enables it to be aware of itself. He then explores this system: how consciousness works, why it is not transparent to introspection, and what sense it makes in the context of evolution. The "consciousness revolution" and the integrative focus of neuroscience have made it possible to make concrete formerly mysterious ideas about the human mind. Torey's model of the mind is the logical outcome of this, highlighting a coherent and meaningful role for a reflectively aware humanity

We are material beings in a material world, but we are also beings who have experiences and feelings. How can these subjective states be just a matter of matter? Philosophical materialists have formulated what is sometimes called the phenomenal concept strategy (which holds that we possess a range of special concepts for classifying the subjective aspects of our experiences) to defend materialism. In Consciousness Revisited, philosopher Michael Tye, until now a proponent of the approach, argues that the phenomenal concept strategy is mistaken. A rejection of phenomenal concepts leaves the materialist with the task of finding some other strategy for defending materialism. Tye points to four major puzzles of consciousness that arise: How is it possible for Mary, in the famous thought experiment, to make a discovery when she leaves her black-and-white room? In what does the explanatory gap consist and how can it be bridged? How can the hard problem of consciousness be solved? How are zombies possible? Tye presents solutions to these puzzles-solutions that relieve the pressure on the materialist created by the failure of the phenomenal concept strategy. In doing so, he discusses and makes new proposals on a wide range of issues, including the nature of perceptual content, the conditions necessary for consciousness of a given object, the proper understanding of change blindness, the nature of phenomenal character and our awareness of it, whether we have privileged access to our own experiences, and, if we do, in what such access consists.

We are material beings in a material world, but we are also beings who have experiences and feelings. How can these subjective states be just a matter of matter? Philosophical materialists have formulated what is sometimes called “the phenomenal concept strategy,” which holds that we possess a range of special concepts for classifying the subjective aspects of our experiences, to defend materialism. This book argues that the phenomenal concept strategy is mistaken. A rejection of phenomenal concepts leaves the materialist with the task of finding some other strategy for defending materialism. The book points to four major puzzles of consciousness that arise: How is it possible for Mary, in the famous thought experiment, to make a discovery when she leaves her black-and-white room? In what does the explanatory gap consist and how can it be bridged? How can the hard problem of consciousness be solved? How are zombies possible? The book presents solutions to these puzzles—ones that relieve the pressure on the materialist created by the failure of the phenomenal concept strategy. In doing so, it discusses and makes new proposals on a wide range of issues, including the nature of perceptual content, the conditions necessary for consciousness of a given object, the proper understanding of change blindness, the nature of phenomenal character and our awareness of it, whether we have privileged access to our own experiences, and, if we do, in what such access consists Content: Foreword / by Daniel C Dennett -- Preface -- Perspective. The problem The path to the solution Some technical aspects -- The emergence of the human brain. The upgrading of the prehuman brain Modifications that underlie language The internal representation of the outside world -- Adaptive changes for speech and thought. Dual excitation and the oscillation of attention The building blocks of language -- The evolution of language. The breakthrough to protolanguage Secondary language evolution Using the language instrument Language and the limits of abstraction -- More about language. The perceptual basis of language The acquisition of language by the child Ape talk : a tip without an iceberg -- Self-accessibility. Problems of self-detection Elements of self-detection -- Reflection: the key to human awareness. Double-stranded reentrance The mechanism of reflective awareness Self-awareness -- The mind-system. The new identity : brain to mind The alchemy of self-deception Problems with self-conceptualization The "freedom" of the system : fact and fiction about the mind -- The mind versus the computer. Formalism and the logic of misconstruction Model formation and the role of semantics Society and the shaping of the mind -- Evolution : the model of the loaded dice. The watershed of insights Prejudice and counterprejudice -- Between the quantum and the cosmos. A range of perspectives Light at the end of the tunnel. Foreword / D.C Dennett Perspective The problem The path to the solution Some technical aspects The emergence of the human brain The upgrading of the prehuman brain Modifications that underlie language The internal representation of the outside world Adaptive changes for speech and thought Dual excitation and the oscillation of attention The building blocks of language The evolution of language A the breakthrough to protolanguage Secondary language evolution Using the language instrument Language and the limits of abstraction More about language The perceptual basis of language The acquisition of language by the child Ape talk : a tip without an iceberg Self-accessibility Problems of self-detection Elements of self-detection Reflection: the key to human awareness Double-stranded re-entrance The mechanism of reflective awareness Self-awareness The mind-system The new identity : brain to mind The alchemy of self-deception Problems with self-conceptualisation The freedom of the system : act and fiction about the mind The mind versus the computer Formalism and the logic of misconstruction Model formation and the role of semantics 191 Society and the shaping of the mind Evolution : the model of the loaded dice The watershed of insights Prejudice and counterprejudice Between the quantum and the cosmos A range of perspectives Light at the end of the tunnel. This text is an interdisciplinary examination of the evolutionary breakthroughs that rendered the brain accessible to itself