The Illuminated Brain

Great Thinkers in Consciousness Studies

By: David Christopher Lane

Narrated by: Rebecca Cesa

Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Human interest in the nature of consciousness dates far back to our ancestral past. However, it is only in the last century or so that researchers and philosophers have been able to tackle the problem in a more scientific way. This is primarily due to our increasing understanding of human physiology and how our brain functions. With the advent of ever more sophisticated technology - from fMRI scans, functional magnetic resonance imaging, to DARPA’s neural engineering program, understanding neural "dust" - we are now able to not only create vivid simulations of cerebral activity but also to systematically reverse engineer the brain.

Whether such empirical observations will unlock the secrets of self-reflective awareness is still open to vigorous debate. Nevertheless, the study of consciousness is now considered to be of elemental importance and has invited a large number of brilliant thinkers - from a wide range of disciplines, including mathematicians, quantum physicists, neuroscientists, and philosophers - to join in the discussions and offer their own contributions.

The following essays briefly explore the life and work of pioneers in the field of consciousness studies. Included in this eclectic mix are such notables as Giulio Tononi (University of Wisconsin), Paul and Patricia Churchland (University of California, San Diego), Noam Chomsky (MIT), the late Timothy Leary and Terence McKenna, and Jean Pierre Changeux (Collège de France) among others. Each entry is written by a separate author. David Christopher Lane, Professor of Philosophy at Mt. San Antonio College, has selected and edited each essay.

©2020 David Christopher Lane (P)2020 David Christopher Lane

Seems to be a collection of homework assignments

This is a collection of essays that, to me, seem to be written by students following some standard template. They each write about some scientist or author like Francis Crick or Aldous Huxley, starting with a couple sentences about their childhood, then usually quoting a few sentences from their work or some other review, and finalizing with a mention of their political views (especially highlighting anti-nuclear views) and their death.

There's no significant coherence among the essays. There's only minimal context to the quotes and the quotes are usually too short to be that illuminating.

I think this would only be useful to someone already familiar with conscious study just wanting a refresher of who's who among the history. But most listeners would gain very little from this.