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Toward a Science of Consciousness
Toward a Science of Consciousness
- GenresNonfiction
310 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
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April 15, 2019
I would have given this book a 3, but it's written in 1978, so I bumped it up. It's a bit like spaghetti sauce on the wall with where it's going across the fields that might cover Consciousness. The points are not as sharpe as Pelletier attempts to fit in hard sciences (Physics, Math, Neurology, etc) and Eastern tradition. It's written academic style, so points are made in the passive voice. this can make it hard if you thought you picked up easy ready non-fiction.
That said, there are some great studies and the collection of ideas - which read a bit like a more organized brainstorm - are helpful if you're starting down a path of how the brain manifests a concept of consciousness.
P. 17 "This science needs to draw upon divergent disciplines yet be based upon the fundamental processes of human perception, for perhaps the most basic issue facing contemporary science is the nature of observation itself." This about it... what really is observation or even science without consciousness which lacks the basic tenant of definition. Cool beans.
P. 76, he talks about some of the experiments in having people control brain abnormal rhythms.
P. 130... this whole hologram thing. I am not sure I agree, but i kind of see why they are going there. The idea is that reality is manifested from sensory and not real in the socratic sense, ergo what is it. Ok. good point.
p. 197, the absence of stress is not relaxation. Kind of interesting. I dig.
P. 221 and after, he talks about the fear of death and how this is a problem for Western Culture coloring perception. It's the fear part that is interesting to me. Here's seen in the sense of stress creation. But it's all death, though there is fear of ego, etc.
Overall, I like it. I like the parts on Alpha, Beta, and Theta Waves. I think I need to do more work there. Given how old the book is, you can't hate it. It likely inspired a lot of work subsequent.
That said, there are some great studies and the collection of ideas - which read a bit like a more organized brainstorm - are helpful if you're starting down a path of how the brain manifests a concept of consciousness.
P. 17 "This science needs to draw upon divergent disciplines yet be based upon the fundamental processes of human perception, for perhaps the most basic issue facing contemporary science is the nature of observation itself." This about it... what really is observation or even science without consciousness which lacks the basic tenant of definition. Cool beans.
P. 76, he talks about some of the experiments in having people control brain abnormal rhythms.
P. 130... this whole hologram thing. I am not sure I agree, but i kind of see why they are going there. The idea is that reality is manifested from sensory and not real in the socratic sense, ergo what is it. Ok. good point.
p. 197, the absence of stress is not relaxation. Kind of interesting. I dig.
P. 221 and after, he talks about the fear of death and how this is a problem for Western Culture coloring perception. It's the fear part that is interesting to me. Here's seen in the sense of stress creation. But it's all death, though there is fear of ego, etc.
Overall, I like it. I like the parts on Alpha, Beta, and Theta Waves. I think I need to do more work there. Given how old the book is, you can't hate it. It likely inspired a lot of work subsequent.
Displaying 1 of 1 review