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Seeing Red: A Study in Consciousness
Nicholas Humphrey
€ 45.13
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Description for Seeing Red: A Study in Consciousness
Paperback. Beginning with the seemingly simple act of seeing red, the fact of a conscious sensation, this essay builds toward an explanation of why consciousness matters - why, in short, it makes compelling evolutionary sense. Series: Mind/Brain/Behavior Initiative. Num Pages: 160 pages, 26 schematic drawings. BIC Classification: HP; JMT. Category: (UP) Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly; (UU) Undergraduate. Dimension: 170 x 130 x 11. Weight in Grams: 154.
Consciousness matters. Arguably it matters more than anything. The purpose of this book is to build towards an explanation of just what the matter is. Nicholas Humphrey begins this compelling exploration of the biggest of big questions with a challenge to the reader, and himself. What's involved in seeing red ? What is it like for us to see someone else seeing something red? Seeing a red screen tells us a fact about something in the world. But it also creates a new fact--a sensation in each of our minds, the feeling of redness. And that's the mystery. Conventional science so far hasn't told us what conscious sensations are made of, or how we get access to them, or why we have them at all. From an evolutionary perspective, what's the point of consciousness? Humphrey offers a daring and novel solution, arguing that sensationsare not things that happen to us, they are things we do--originating in our primordial ancestors' expressions of liking or disgust. Tracing the evolutionary trajectory through to human beings, he shows how this has led to sensations playing the key role in the human sense of Self. The Self, as we now know it from within, seems to have fascinating other-worldly properties. It leads us to believe in mind-body duality and the existence of a soul. And such beliefs--even if mistaken--can be highly adaptive, because they increase the value we place on our own and others' lives. Consciousness matters, Humphrey concludes with striking paradox, because it is its function to matter. It has been designed to create in human beings a Self whose life is worth pursuing.
Product Details
Publisher
Harvard University Press United States
Number of pages
160
Format
Paperback
Publication date
2008
Series
Mind/Brain/Behavior Initiative
Condition
New
Weight
153g
Number of Pages
160
Place of Publication
Cambridge, Mass., United States
ISBN
9780674030541
SKU
V9780674030541
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 7 to 11 working days
Ref
99-1
About Nicholas Humphrey
Nicholas Humphrey is School Professor in the Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science at the London School of Economics.
Reviews for Seeing Red: A Study in Consciousness
There are few scientists who think so originally, provoke so consistently or write so elegantly as Humphrey. Seeing Red... is a wonderful introduction to his iconoclastic thinking... [It] is less about what consciousness is than about how we might go about thinking about it. And for that there are few better guides than Nicholas Humphrey. - Kenan Malik, Sunday Telegraph It's a delight to read, beautifully clear and concise, while packing lots of good sense... [An] intellectual tour de force... Few contemporary writings on consciousness achieve half as much. - Chris Nunn, New Scientist A most important little book. - John Shand, Times Literary Supplement