Second nature : brain science and human knowledge / Gerald M. Edelman.

By: Edelman, Gerald M Material type: Text

Contents:

1. The Galilean arc and Darwin's program -- 2. Consciousness, body, and brain -- 3. Selectionism : a prerequisite for consciousness -- 4. From brain activity to consciousness -- 5. Epistemology and its discontents -- 6. A brain-based approach -- 7. Forms of knowledge : the divorce between science and the humanities -- 8. Repairing the rift -- 9. Causation, illusions, and values -- 10. Creativity : the play between specificity and range -- 11. Abnormal states -- 12. Brain-based devices : toward a conscious artifact -- 13. Second nature : the transformation of knowledge.

Summary: Burgeoning advances in brain science are opening up new perspectives on how we acquire knowledge. Indeed, it is now possible to explore consciousness - the very centre of human concern - by scientific means. In this illuminating book, Dr. Gerald M. Edelman offers a new theory of knowledge based on striking scientific findings about how the brain works. And he addresses the related compelling question: does the latest research imply that all knowledge can be reduced to scientific description? Edelman's brain-based approach to knowledge has rich implications for our understanding of creativity, of the normal and abnormal functioning of the brain, and of the connections among the different ways we have of knowing. While the gulf between science and the humanities and their respective views of the world has seemed enormous in the past, the author shows that their differences can be dissolved by considering their origins in brain functions. He foresees a day when brain-based devices will be conscious, and he reflects on this and other fascinating ideas about how we come to know the world and ourselves.

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Item type	Current library	Collection	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
eBook	e-Library Electronic Book@IST	EBook		Available

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Includes bibliographical references (pages 173-181) and index.

Print version record.

Burgeoning advances in brain science are opening up new perspectives on how we acquire knowledge. Indeed, it is now possible to explore consciousness - the very centre of human concern - by scientific means. In this illuminating book, Dr. Gerald M. Edelman offers a new theory of knowledge based on striking scientific findings about how the brain works. And he addresses the related compelling question: does the latest research imply that all knowledge can be reduced to scientific description? Edelman's brain-based approach to knowledge has rich implications for our understanding of creativity, of the normal and abnormal functioning of the brain, and of the connections among the different ways we have of knowing. While the gulf between science and the humanities and their respective views of the world has seemed enormous in the past, the author shows that their differences can be dissolved by considering their origins in brain functions. He foresees a day when brain-based devices will be conscious, and he reflects on this and other fascinating ideas about how we come to know the world and ourselves.

English.