The Crucible of Consciousness: An Integrated Theory of Mind and Brain

by Zoltan Torey, Daniel C. Dennett (Foreword)

An interdisciplinary examination of the evolutionary breakthroughs that rendered the brain accessible to itself. In The Crucible of Consciousness , Zoltan Torey offers a theory of the mind and its central role in evolution. He traces the evolutionary breakthrough that rendered the brain accessible to itself and shows how the mind-boosted brain works. He identifies what it is that separates the human's self-reflective consciousness from mere animal awareness, and he maps its neural and linguistic underpinnings. And he argues, controversially, that the neural technicalities of reflective awareness can be neither algorithmic nor spiritual—neither a computer nor a ghost in the machine. The human mind is unique; it is not only the epicenter of our knowledge but also the outer limit of our intellectual reach. Not to solve the riddle of the self-aware mind, writes Torey, goes against the evolutionary thrust that created it. Torey proposes a model that brings into a single focus all the elements that make up the how the brain works, its functional components and their interactions; how language evolved and how syntax evolved out of the semantic substrate by way of neural transactions; and why the mind-endowed brain deceives itself with entelechy-type impressions. Torey first traces the language-linked emergence of the mind, the subsystem of the brain that enables it to be aware of itself. He then explores this how consciousness works, why it is not transparent to introspection, and what sense it makes in the context of evolution. The "consciousness revolution" and the integrative focus of neuroscience have made it possible to make concrete formerly mysterious ideas about the human mind. Torey's model of the mind is the logical outcome of this, highlighting a coherent and meaningful role for a reflectively aware humanity.

Genres: Psychology, Science, Philosophy

247 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 1999

About the author

The late Zoltan Torey was a clinical psychologist and independent scholar and the author of The Crucible of Consciousness: An Integrated Theory of Mind and Brain (MIT Press).

Reviews

[Tina Saldiran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished this massive work. Massive because you really have to plow through it, it is not an easy read by far. The first few chapters lay the groundwork and might come across as boring. However wait till he makes his point in chapter 7. Some books just blow your mind by stating a point that suddenly makes everything fit in and click together. I remember reading Dawkins' 'The Selfish Gene' and experiencing the same sensation. I have read Dennett before and found his ideas intriguing. Torey however takes it up a notch and makes you wonder why you did not see things this way before. We're talking about consciousness and the mind here, so it isn't written in rock, there is very little solid proof to work on, but that should not stop us from theorizing and trying to get a clearer picture, which I believe Torey did perfectly. The last few chapters are strange but very interesting as well. I would have given it 5 stars but my main issue was the density of the book and the lack of examples to help grasping the sometimes very difficult ideas presented. I find Dennett easier to read for this reason alone. I hope Torey writes more books and if he does, dilutes his work just a little so the rest of us can catch up with him!

[Hariod Brawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the first edition of this work which was published by Oxford University Press - this current edition will have differences of which I'm unaware. Firstly, I agree with Tina Saldiran's review in as much as this isn't an easy read (the clue is in the sub-title). It's more than worth the effort though, and the lack of ease is no reflection of Torey's writing style, only the subject matter. For me, the most interesting aspect is Torey's analysis of how the self-conception is formulated and, in an on-going process, is erroneously validated. He writes about how we create for ourselves our own intra-psychic experience such that becomes evidence for our putative 'self', and how this evidence feeds recursively into itself thereby strengthening the naïve self-conception and running self-perception that the mind fabricates. This is utterly fascinating stuff, and is for me, the great strength of the book. Why? Because we all have this sense of 'self' of course, and yet are unable to define or explain quite what it is other than apprehending it as a vague narrative idea which embeds as firm belief. Torey enumerates why and how this idea/belief comes into being, and how it's projected in pseudo-explanatory terms such that satisfy its own egoic self-reflection. Sticking with this theme, Torey posits that some kind of deceptive circularity is involved in the process of self-perception, this deception being a product of mind and awareness (he uses the unfortunate term 'consciousness' of course), constantly and necessarily being bound-up within it's own functional limitations, its own mechanics of comprehension. He writes of humankind being disposed to seek comfort and to redress a lost 'intra-psychic equilibrium' using verbal matrices, so there's perhaps rather too much stress placed on language as the medium of what Torey calls 'consciousness'. ['Awareness' may have been a more useful and broader term to have used throughout, it being less obviously indicative of conveying knowledge and meaning?] Anyhow, these patterns of words then become the pseudo-explanatory template/schemata which for the most part are taken to be 'my self'. The mind then prohibits further enquiry into its own pseudo-explanations for fear it may undermine its sense of security. There is of course so much more to this book, all of which I found highly informative and innovative in content. For anyone interested in digging into the nature and construct of the 'self' (Buddhist / Non-Dualist / Advaita etc.), then if you can work patiently through this book, you will certainly find reward.

[Thezu]

Just getting into this one, but pointing this out for being a more recent entry to consciousness debate, particularly for those in other disciplines interested in evolutionary theory as it applies to consciousness.
Daniel Dennett recommended and his introduction outlines really well where he concedes to Torey's theory.

[Quiver · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting and accessible, yet rigorous, discussion on what is consciousness and how it evolved. The author argues convincingly that the key to our consciousness is the development of language. Worth the time and effort!

[Kenneth Evren · Rating 4 out of 5]

very well written, very thought provoking, not sure about his ideas