Encyclopedia of Consciousness

Consciousness has long been a subject of interest in philosophy and religion but only relatively recently has it become subject to scientific investigation. Now, more than ever before, we are beginning to understand this mental state. Developmental psychologists understand when we first develop a sense of self; neuropsychologists see which parts of the brain activate when we think about ourselves and which parts of the brain control that awareness. Cognitive scientists have mapped the circuitry that allows machines to have some form of self awareness, and neuroscientists investigate similar circuitry in the human brain.

Research that once was separate inquiries in discreet disciplines is converging. List serves and small conferences focused on consciousness are proliferating. New journals have emerged in this field. A huge number of monographs and edited treatises have recently been published on consciousness, but there is no recognized entry point to the field, no comprehensive summary. This encyclopedia is that reference.

Organized alphabetically by topic, coverage encompasses a summary of major research and scientific thought regarding the nature of consciousness, the neural circuitry involved, how the brain, body, and world interact, and our understanding of subjective states. The work includes contributions covering neuroscience, psychology, philosophy, and artificial intelligence to provide a comprehensive backdrop to recent and ongoing investigations into the nature of conscious experience from a philosophical, psychological, and biological perspective.

Contenu

Aesthetics and the Experience of Beauty
Altered and Higher States of Consciousness
Animal Consciousness
Artificial Intelligence and Consciousness
Attention, Awareness, and Neglect
Attention: Change Blindness, Inattentional Blindness
Attention: Selective Attention and Consciousness
Autobiographical Memory and Consciousness
Automaticity and Consciousness
Behaviorism in Science and Philosophy
Bistable Perception and Consciousness
Blindsight
Brain Basis of Voluntary Control
Brain: Integration, Specialization, and Awareness
Brain: Prefrontal Cortex and Awareness
Brain: Subcortical Pathways and Consciousness
Coma, Persistent Vegetative States, Diminished Consciousness
Concepts and Definitions of Consciousness
Consciousness and Experienced Effort
Consciousness and Visual Illusions
Consciousness of Space and Motor Control
Cultural Milieu, History, and Intuitive (Folk) Theories of Consciousness
Development: Consciousness From Birth to Adulthood
Development: The Role of Social Relations, Cultural Assumptions, Theory of Mind
Emotion and Consciousness
Ethical Implications: Pain, Coma, and Treatment of Other Species
Evolution of Consciousness (How Consciousness Evolved as a Tool of Survival)
Expectancy, Placebos and Self-Deception
Experimental Frameworks for Studying the Neural Basis of Consciousness
Free Will
Fringe and Partial Consciousness
Function(s) of Consciousness
General Anesthesia
Habit, Action, and Consciousness
History of Philosophical Theories of Consciousness
History of the Scientific Study of Consciousness
Hypnosis and Suggestibility
Implicit Processes in Social Psychology
Inner Speech and Consciousness
Intentionality and Consciousness
Intuition, Creativity, and Unconscious Problem Solving
Language and Consciousness
Memory: Amnesia and Awareness
Memory: Control of Memory
Memory: Errors, Constructive Processes, and Conscious Retrieval
Memory: Implicit Learning and Implicit Memory
Memory: Perceptual and Immediate Memory
Memory: Procedural Memory, Skill, Perceptual-Motor Learning and Awareness
Mental Representation and Consciousness
Meta-awareness
Mind Wandering and Other Lapses of Attention
Mind-Body Problem
Neural Basis of Perceptual Awareness in Humans
Neurobiological Theories of Consciousness
Neurochemical Basis of Consciousness
Perception, Action and Consciousness
Perception: Implicit, Subliminal
Perception: the Coherence of Perception; Binding and Other Processes
Perception: Unconscious Influences on Perceptual Interpretation
Visual Experience and Immediate Memory
Phenomenology of Consciousness
Phylogeny and Evolution of Brain Structures and Consciousness
Psychoactive Drugs and Conscious Alteration
Psychodynamic Theories of Unconscious Activity
Psychopathology and Consciousness
Religious Experience: Psychology and Neurology
Self: Body Awareness and Consciousness
Self: Personal Identity
Self: the Unity of Self, Self-Consistency
Self-Awareness and Introspection
Sleep: Dreaming and Consciousness
Sleep: Dreaming Data and Theories
Social Foundations of Consciousness
Social Neuroscience of Groups
Subjectivity; First- and Third-Person Analysis
Theories of Consciousness: Cognitive
Theory of Mind (Neural Basis)
Time and Consciousness
Unconscious Cognition
Unconscious Emotion
Unconscious Goals and Motivation
Visual Imagery and Consciousness
Volition and Voluntary Control
William James and Consciousness

*Contents are tentative and subject to change prior to publication