Table of Contents
Acknowledgments 11
Preface 13
Chapter 1 In the Beginning 17
From "Big Bang" to Big Ideas 19
Victim of Biology and Circumstance? 20
Chapter 2 How Brains Work 25
Neural Networks: The Architecture of Complex Systems 26
Topographical Mapping 29
The Brain's Currency 34
The Nature of Thought 50
The Binding Problem 52
Oscillation 53
The Brain's Three Minds 56
On Being Awake 60
Consciousness Is in the Brain 61
The Context of Self 65
Origin of the Sense of Self 67
Who and What Am I? 71
Neuroplasticity: Changing Mind by Changing Brain 72
Chapter 3 The Nature of Consciousness 77
Conscious Sense of Self 82
Mass Action, Brain Size, and Consciousness 87
Causes of Consciousness 89
Brainstem Trigger of Wakefulness 89
Learning How to Be Conscious 92
CIP Basis of Consciousness 94
Synchronization 97
The "Hard Problem" 99
Conscious Thought 101
How We Think When Conscious 102
Working Memory Biology 103
Consolidation of Working Memory 107
"Thoughtless" Habits and Compulsions 108
Different States of Consciousness 109
Distorted Conscious States 110
Where Mind Goes When We Sleep 114
Memorizing in Our Sleep 118
Activated Sleep 119
Chapter 4 Does Consciousness Do Anything? 135
Why Are We Conscious? 135
The Value of Consciousness 138
Agency 139
The Brain's Avatar 145
Avatar Supporting Evidence 153
Why Have Avatars? 156
Unleashing the Avatar 159
How the Avatar Knows It Knows 159
The Avatar s Artifacts 162
Avatars Learn and Teach 167
Are We Free or Are We Robots? 168
How Choices/Decisions Are Made 169
The Biological Robot Argument 174
Robotocist Research and Its Critique 177
Examples of Apparently Conscious-Driven Action 197
The Purpose-Filled Life of Consciously Driven Action 202
The Role of Learning and Memory in Conscious Choice 204
Robotocism in Religion and Politics 208
What Consciousness Does 215
Directing Attention 218
Learning 221
Explicitness Promotes Memory 224
Introspection 225
Language 226
Reasoning 227
Consciousness Promotes Better Decisions 228
Creativity 229
Reprogramming Conscious-Self Dysfunction 231
Personal Growth 232
Personal Responsibility 233
Belief 234
The Avatars "New" Genetics 237
Chapter 5 To Beyond? 241
"Spooky" Science: Hidden Realities 242
Near-Death Experiences 253
Living the Life We Were Meant to Live 255
Perspectives on Science and the Mind's Odyssey 260
Notes 265
Index 277
About the Author 287