From Brains to Consciousness? Essays on the New Sciences of the Mind

Remarkable new findings in the neurosciences are leading to profound changes in our self-understanding. Neuroscientists now address some of the deepest problems of the human condition--from illnesses and disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia to the search for the nature of consciousness itself--in the belief that their science can say something useful about these processes and how to intervene in them. At the same time, by investigating the biological mechanisms involved in phenomena as varied as street violence, drug addiction, and sexual orientation, the new science raises complex ethical, legal, social, and medical questions.. From Brains to Consciousness? brings together fourteen of the world's leading neuroscientists, psychologists, computer modellers, and philosophers to offer up-to-the-minute insights into the intense debates that are taking place in this exciting area of research. Is memory a molecular process? Is schizophrenia a genetic disorder? What does the future hold for psychopharmacology? Can consciousness be computed? Is artificial intelligence a real prospect? Contributors investigate these and other questions in a clear and compelling way that will appeal both to specialists and to general readers interested in cutting-edge thought about the fundamentals of consciousness and human nature.. Contributors to the volume are Igor Aleksander, Richard Bentall, Tim Bliss, Tim J. Crow, Susan Greenfield, Richard Gregory, Mary Midgley, John Parnavelas, Roger Penrose, Trevor Robbins, Steven Rose, Wolf Singer, A. David Smith, and Larry R. Squire.