Research Catalog

Title

In the theater of consciousness : the workspace of the mind / Bernard J. Baars.

Author

Baars, Bernard J.

Publication

New York : Oxford University Press, 1997.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xiv, 193 pages : illustrations; 25 cm

Summary

• Combining psychology with brain science, Baars brilliantly brings his subject to life with a metaphor that has been used to understand consciousness since the time of Plato and Aristotlethe mind as theater. Here consciousness is seen as a "stage" on which our sensations, perceptions, thoughts, and feelings play to a vast, silent audience (the immensely complicated inner-workings of the brain's unconscious processes).
• Behind the scenes, silent context operators shape conscious experience; they include implicit expectations, self systems, and scene setters. Using this framework, Baars presents compelling evidence that human consciousness rides on top of biologically ancient mechanisms. In humans it manifests itself in inner speech, imagery, perception, and voluntary control of thought and action.
• Topics like hypnosis, absorbed states of mind, adaptation to trauma, and the human propensity to project expectations on uncertainty, all fit into the expanded theater metaphor.
• As Baars explores our present understanding of the mind, he takes us to the top laboratories around the world, where we witness some of the field's most exciting breakthroughs and discoveries. And throughout the book, Baars has sprinkled numerous and often highly amusing on-the-spot demonstrations that illuminate the ideas under discussion.

Subject

• Consciousness
• Intellect
• Human information processing
• Cognition

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Prologue: The Metaphor -- 1. Treating Consciousness as a Variable -- 2. The Theater Stage Has Limited Capacity but Creates Vast Access -- 3. Onstage: Sensations, Images, and Ideas -- 4. The Spotlight: Attention, Absorption, and the Construction of Reality -- 5. Behind the Scenes: The Contexts that Shape Our Experience -- 6. Volition: Conscious Control of Action -- 7. The Director: Self as the Unifying Context of Consciousness -- 8. What Is It Good For? The Functions of Consciousness -- 9. Epilogue: A Tiny Bit of Philosophy -- Appendix. Make your Own Theory: A Summary of the Evidence.

ISBN

0195102657 (alk. paper)

LCCN

96010379

OCLC

• 34319776
• ocm34319776

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries