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In Consciousness We Trust: The Cognitive Neuroscience of Subjective Experience
In Consciousness We Trust is a synthesis of Hakwan Lau's 20-year research programme exploring the neuroscience of consciousness. Discussing studies from his own laboratory, Lau uses various neuroscience techniques to address challenging philosophical questions about the nature of our subjective experience.
Considering the qualitative nature of subjective experience, the book reviews the current cognitive neuroscience literature on conscious perception, attention, and metacognition and puts forward a mechanistic account of experience through the context of personal journey. Chapters cover different major theoretical positions, to relate the nature of consciousness to relevant phenomena such as attention, metacognition, rational control, emotion, and sense of agency.
This is a must-read for graduate students and researchers in cognitive neuroscience and philosophy, and an important contribution to the consciousness literature.
This is an open access title available under the terms of a [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International] licence.
Considering the qualitative nature of subjective experience, the book reviews the current cognitive neuroscience literature on conscious perception, attention, and metacognition and puts forward a mechanistic account of experience through the context of personal journey. Chapters cover different major theoretical positions, to relate the nature of consciousness to relevant phenomena such as attention, metacognition, rational control, emotion, and sense of agency.
This is a must-read for graduate students and researchers in cognitive neuroscience and philosophy, and an important contribution to the consciousness literature.
This is an open access title available under the terms of a [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International] licence.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published May 10, 2022
24 people are currently reading
174 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 9, 2022
Best book on the science of consciousness and subjective awareness. The author comes across as honest and scientific in laying out the arguments for his Perceptual Reality Monitoring (PRM) theory of consciousness. I think it's the most clear-headed description of the state of the field. It's a good start and reference book for me if I continue working in this field.
January 13, 2026
Perhaps the only book on the science of consciousness that takes the empirical literature seriously while also being aware of the conceptual issues with studying something like consciousness.
Also a good intro to the science of consciousness in the first 4 chapters if someone is only familiar with the philosophical debates on consciousness. Idea of the performance capacity confounder is really useful for judging studies.
I was initially resistant to higher-order theories (HOT) of consciousness based on philosophical considerations, but the empirical lit Lau uses swayed me enough to take HOTs seriously, at least empirical versions of it like Lau’s PRM. I do have worries about PRM, but it’s definitely more attractive than global or local theories in my mind.
Also, Lau’s attitude toward theorizing as being too common given our minimal or equivalent evidence is a refreshing reaction in the face of the millions of theories put forward.
Also a good intro to the science of consciousness in the first 4 chapters if someone is only familiar with the philosophical debates on consciousness. Idea of the performance capacity confounder is really useful for judging studies.
I was initially resistant to higher-order theories (HOT) of consciousness based on philosophical considerations, but the empirical lit Lau uses swayed me enough to take HOTs seriously, at least empirical versions of it like Lau’s PRM. I do have worries about PRM, but it’s definitely more attractive than global or local theories in my mind.
Also, Lau’s attitude toward theorizing as being too common given our minimal or equivalent evidence is a refreshing reaction in the face of the millions of theories put forward.
December 7, 2024
The best cognitive neuroscience book on consciousness. Read it now.
July 5, 2023
This is one of the best deep dives into consciousness I've come across.
The approach taken here is from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience, although the author does go into some philosophical discussions in the later chapters. There are a lot of empirical studies to wade through and due to its technical nature, this is not recommended for the casual reader.
Starting with defining consciousness as subjective experience, theories are divided into two: global and local. The author then attempts to address 5 Key Issues:
1. Is the NCC (neural correlates of consciousness) global?
2. Is subjective experience sparse rather than rich?
3. Is consciousness important for higher cognitive functions?
4. Is consciousness somewhat limited in young children and primitive animals?
5. Is machine consciousness ever possible?
At the end, he concludes that both global and local views are found wanting.
Coincidently, just a few weeks ago, Christoph Koch loses his wager to David Chalmers that the mechanism by which the brain’s neurons produce consciousness would be discovered by 2023. Experimental results have shown not to match the two leading hypotheses: Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and Global Network Workspace Theory (GNWT). (https://www.nature.com/articles/d4158...)
The author introduces his own local/global Perceptual Reality Monitoring (PRM) theory.
While claiming that it's the best thesis so far, he does admit that it still does not provide all the answers and laments whether the mystery of consciousness will ever be solved.
The approach taken here is from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience, although the author does go into some philosophical discussions in the later chapters. There are a lot of empirical studies to wade through and due to its technical nature, this is not recommended for the casual reader.
Starting with defining consciousness as subjective experience, theories are divided into two: global and local. The author then attempts to address 5 Key Issues:
1. Is the NCC (neural correlates of consciousness) global?
2. Is subjective experience sparse rather than rich?
3. Is consciousness important for higher cognitive functions?
4. Is consciousness somewhat limited in young children and primitive animals?
5. Is machine consciousness ever possible?
At the end, he concludes that both global and local views are found wanting.
Coincidently, just a few weeks ago, Christoph Koch loses his wager to David Chalmers that the mechanism by which the brain’s neurons produce consciousness would be discovered by 2023. Experimental results have shown not to match the two leading hypotheses: Integrated Information Theory (IIT) and Global Network Workspace Theory (GNWT). (https://www.nature.com/articles/d4158...)
The author introduces his own local/global Perceptual Reality Monitoring (PRM) theory.
While claiming that it's the best thesis so far, he does admit that it still does not provide all the answers and laments whether the mystery of consciousness will ever be solved.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews