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This introductory text examines the psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience of consciousness, emphasizing the strengths of a scientific approach to studying the mind. It surveys the full range of altered states of consciousness including sleep and dreams, hypnotic and meditative states, anesthesia, and drug-induced states.
List of contents
Preface; Part I. The Nature of Consciousness: 1. The Problem of Consciousness; 2. The Mind-Body Problem; 3. Do We Have Free Will?; 4. Machine Consciousness; 5. Animal Consciousness; Part II. The Workings of Consciousness: 6. Looking at our Own Minds; 7. Self and Identity; 8. Cognition and Consciousness; 9. Perception and Consciousness; 10. Consciousness and the Brain; Part III. Other States of Consciousness: 11. Altered States of Consciousness; 12. Sleep; 13. Dreams; 14. Hypnosis; 15. Drugs and Consciousness; 16. Meditation and Transcendental Experiences; 17. Parapsychology; 18. Bringing it all Together; Glossaries; List of Abbreviations; References; Index.
About the author
Trevor A. Harley is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Dundee and a Fellow of the British Psychological Society. He is the author of The Psychology of Language, 4th edition (2013), Talking the Talk, 2nd edition (2017) and The Psychology of Weather (2018). He is very widely published across psychology, including papers on consciousness and dreams, and has kept a detailed dream diary for several years. He is always wondering what his poodle Beau is thinking about.
Summary
This introductory text examines the psychology, philosophy, and neuroscience of consciousness, emphasizing the strengths of a scientific approach to studying the mind. It surveys the full range of altered states of consciousness including sleep and dreams, hypnotic and meditative states, anesthesia, and drug-induced states.
Additional text
'Finally, a brilliantly written, accessible, and accurate synthesis on one of science's biggest taboos: the study of consciousness. There is no topic avoided by Trevor Harley: animal versus machine consciousness, coma, psychedelics, meditation, our sense of self, even psychism, are all covered. It is the authoritative text all students and researchers have been waiting for.' Steven Laureys, University Hospital of Liège
