Skip to main content

Toward an Emergent Theory of Consciousness

  • Chapter
  • 123 Accesses

Abstract

In the preceding chapters, I have tried to lay down two broad paths. The first winds through the scientific evidence relating to the investigation of consciousness: this path, unfortunately, becomes lost in an impenetrable thicket deep in the brain, where most neurobiologists will admit they do not yet know how or where consciousness arises.

I came upon a vulture high Upon a lonely mountain peak, He stared at me with silent eyes, I looked at him afraid to speak... Then faced him as the world grew still Until did he his wings unfold And disappear beyond the hills To leave me standing in the cold. Alwyn Scott (previously unpublished)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

eBook
USD   19.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   29.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   32.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • R Ablowitz. The theory of emergence. Philos. Sci., 6:1–16, 1939.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • H Adams. Mont Saint Michel and Chartres. Penguin Classics, New York, 1986 (First published in 1904).

    Google Scholar 

  • P W Anderson. More is different: Broken symmetry and the nature of the hierarchical structure of science. Science, 177:393–396, 1972.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • N A Baas. Emergence, hierarchies, and hyperstructures. Artificial life III, C G Langton, editor. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  • N A Baas. A framework for higher order cognition and consciousness. In Toward a science of consciousness, S R Hameroff, A W Kaszniak, and A C Scott, editors. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  • N Bohr. Light and life. Nature, 131:421–423, 457–459, 1933.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A Church. The calculi of lambda-conversion. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1941.

    Google Scholar 

  • D C Dennett. Consciousness explained. Little, Brown, Boston, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  • J C Eccles. How the self controls its brain. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  • M Eigen and P Schuster. The hypercycle: A principle of natural self-organization. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  • W M Elsasser. Acausai phenomena in physics and biology: A case for reconstruction. Amer. Sci., 4:502–516, 1969a.

    Google Scholar 

  • W M Elsasser. The mathematical expression of generalized complementarity. J. Theoret. Biol., 25:276–296, 1969b.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • J D Farmer, S A Kauffman, and N H Packard. Autocatalytic replication of polymers. Physica D, 22:50–67, 1986.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • W Fontana and L W Buss. “The arrival of the fittest”: Toward a theory of biological organization. Bull. Math. Biol., 56:1–64, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  • R F Fox. Biological energy transduction: The Uroboros. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  • J T Fraser. The genesis and evolution of time. Harvester Press, Sussex, 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  • M Geli-Mann. The quark and the jaguar. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  • D S Goodsell. The machinery of life. Springer-Verlag, New York, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  • B Goodwin. How the leopard changed its spots: The evolution of complexity. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  • E Harth. The creative loop: How the brain makes a mind. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  • E Harth. Self-referent mechanisms as the neuronal basis of consciousness. In Toward a science of consciousness, S R Hameroff, A W Kaszniak, and A C Scott, editors. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  • B Libet. Neural time factors in conscious and unconscious mental functions. In Toward a science of consciousness, S R Hameroff, A W Kaszniak, and A C Scott, editors. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  • C M H Nunn, C G S Clarke, and B H Blott. Collapse of a quantum field may affect brain function. J. Consciousness Stud., 1:127–139, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  • J C Nuño, M A Andrade, F Morán, and F Montero. A model of an autocatalytic network formed by error-prone self-replicative species. Bull. Math. Biol., 55:385–415, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  • K R Popper and J C Eccles. The self and its brain. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  • S S Schweber. Physics, community and the crisis in physical theory. Physics Today, 46:34–40, November 1993.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A C Scott, F Y F Chu, and D W McLaughlin. The soliton: A new concept in applied science. Proc. IEEE, 61:1443–1483, 1973.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A C Scott. The electrophysics of a nerve fiber. Rev. Mod. Phys., 47:487–533, 1975.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M W Shelley. Frankenstein (or the modem Prometheus). Dell, New York, 1965 (first published in 1818).

    Google Scholar 

  • R W Sperry. Forebrain commissurotomy and conscious awareness. J. Medicine and Philosophy, 2:101–126, 1977.

    Google Scholar 

  • L Weiskrantz. Blindsight: A case study and implications. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1995 Springer-Verlag New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Scott, A. (1995). Toward an Emergent Theory of Consciousness. In: Stairway to the Mind. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2510-2_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-2510-2_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-7566-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-2510-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics