Everyone knows what consciousness is: it is what vanishes when we fall into dreamless sleep and reappears when we wake up or when we dream. However, we become less and less confident when we are called to answer fundamental questions about the relationships between consciousness and the physical world. Why is the cerebral cortex associated with consciousness, but not the liver, the heart, the cerebellum or other neural structures? Why does consciousness fade during deep sleep, while cortical neurons remain active? Can unresponsive patients with an island of active cortex surrounded by widespread damage be conscious? Is an artificial system that outperforms people at driving, recognizing faces and objects, and answering difficult questions conscious?
Using the Integrated Information Theory (IIT) as a guiding principle, Sizing up Consciousness explores these questions, taking the reader along a fascinating journey from the cerebral cortex to the cerebellum, from wakefulness to sleep, anesthesia, and coma, supercomputers, octopuses, dolphins, and much more besides.
By translating theoretical principles into practical measurements, the book outlines a preliminary attempt to identify a general rule to size up the capacity for consciousness within the human skull and beyond. Sizing up Consciousness is a short, accessible book, spanning neuronal activity to existential considerations and is essential reading for anyone interested in awareness and cognition.
Industry Reviews
`Even if you are skeptical about the existence of a sound, scientifically based theory of consciousness, this volume will convince you how fruitful an empirical approach to such hard topic can be. Read it.
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Giacomo Rizzolatti M.D, University of Parma, author of Mirrors in the Brain
`Sizing Up Consciousness is an elegant and beautifully written book. In the best of the humanistic tradition, Massimini and Tononi take the reader on an odyssey that journeys effortlessly between neuroscience and philosophy of mind. The result is an erudite and engaging volume that will change how you think about consciousness and our nascent efforts to peer inside the workings of the brain and mind.
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Joseph J. Fins, Professor of Bioethics and the Law at Yale Law School
`Sizing up consciousness is a thought-provoking, profound and well-written essay on one of the most crucial questions of all times: what is the nature of consciousness and what makes us conscious? It brings us the best scientific knowledge on the subject, while remaining open to the fact that consciousness truly comes to life when directly experienced from the "first-person" perspective. A gripping read for all those who are fascinated by this ultimate
quest, laced with poignant ethical questions.
Matthieu Ricard Ph.D, co-author with Wolf Singer of "Beyond the Self
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Matthieu Ricard Ph.D, co-author with Wolf Singer of 'Beyond the Self'
`A first-hand account of the construction and testing of a first rudimentary consciousness-meter, one that can reliably detect the presence or absence of experience in neurological patients. This is what true progress in the storied mind-body problem looks like.
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Christof Koch Ph.D, Chief Scientist and President, Allen Institute for Brain Science, and author of Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist
`A must-read: this audacious and inspiring book by two of the words leading consciousness researchers presents a rigorous yet accessible vision for how to unify our internal and external worlds.
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Max Tegmark Ph.D, Author of 'Life 3.0' and 'Our Mathematica Universe'
