'STRANGE, FAMILIAR AND FORGOTTEN: ANATOMY OF CONSCIOUSNESS'

by Israel Rosenfield

For more than a century, classical neurology and psychology have been dominated by the idea that the principle activities of the brain are unconscious and unknown to us, that our consciousness is but a small factor in mental function. In this book, the author reconsiders the evidence of famous clinical cases in neurology - as well as new evidence from the cognitive sciences - and argues instead that consciousness is the major business of the brain, that memories, language, and the thoughts and drives responsible for our everyday sense of life are all integral parts of the protean yet fragile structure of consciousness.

Genres: Science, Psychology, Nonfiction, Philosophy

160 pages, Hardcover

First published April 21, 1992

Reviews

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book along the lines of Oliver Sacks's writings, but focusing more on how people build a consciousness and a sense of self. Those with traumatic brain injuries that cause them to, say, forget the names of colors, or to no longer be aware that they have hands, tend to also have an altered self-concept. When we cannot interact with the world in the same way, the way we see ourselves is also changed.

This was an especially good book for me to read at this point when I'm getting tired of theory and more interested in empiricism. I like philosophy and all but man, you can't just pull stuff out of nowhere.