Research Catalog

Title

Beyond the conscious mind : unlocking the secrets of the self / Thomas R. Blakeslee.

Author

Blakeslee, Thomas R., 1937-

Publication

New York : Plenum Press, [1996], ©1996.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xiv, 308 pages : illustrations; 22 cm

Summary

• The Nobel Prize-winning work of Roger Sperry revolutionized our understanding of human consciousness by proving that separate thinking and knowledge could exist in the left and right halves of the brain. Now, popular science writer Thomas Blakeslee - author of the highly acclaimed The Right Brain - takes us to a new level of understanding based on the theory of neural Darwinism by Gerald Edelman, another Nobel Prize winner.
• Blakeslee explains that our neurons spontaneously organize into hundreds of groups called modules that compete to respond to every situation in our lives - from reading this paragraph to falling in love. A vast preponderance of this activity operates outside of our conscious awareness.
• .
• One of the most important, yet problematic of these modules is the one that rules our conscious thoughts - the self module. Planning, introspection, and interpreting behavior are among its chief specialties. However, just as a press secretary invents plausible explanations for a President's decision - without being privy to the real reasons - our self module often fabricates an explanation for our behavior when, in fact, it actually doesn't know our true motives.
• Since we accept its stories as true, it gives us a false sense of conscious control over all our actions and a distorted sense of reality. This distortion leads to many of the conflicts and misunderstandings that plague our relationships and work lives.
• . Beyond the Conscious Mind helps each of us tap into and harness the natural creativity and talents of our whole mind. It is only by balancing our conscious mind with the wellspring of ideas in our unconscious that we can reach our full potential.

Subjects

• Thought and thinking
• Left and right (Psychology)
• Self-perception
• Self
• Schemas (Psychology)

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 291-304) and index.

Contents

Ch. 1. The Self-Organizing Mind -- Ch. 2. Getting to Know Your Self Module -- Ch. 3. Time and Consciousness -- Ch. 4. Memory Illusions -- Ch. 5. Other Concepts of Self -- Ch. 6. False Beliefs -- Ch. 7. Hypnosis and Other Altered States -- Ch. 8. Psychotherapy and Multiple Personalities -- Ch. 9. The Infant Brain -- Ch. 10. Nonverbal Thinking -- Ch. 11. Love - Merging the Self -- Ch. 12. The Empty Self -- Appendix One: The Cognitive Revolution -- Appendix Two: A Summary of Conclusions.

ISBN

0306452626

LCCN

96003314

OCLC

• 34244457
• ocm34244457

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries