Nicholas Humphrey

This book is a tour-de-force on how human consciousness may have evolved. From the "phantom pain" experienced by people who have lost their limbs to the uncanny faculty of "blindsight," Humphrey argues that raw sensations are central to all conscious states and that consciousness must have evolved, just like all other mental faculties, over time from our ancestors'bodily responses to pain and pleasure."Humphrey is one of that growing band of scientists who beat literary folk at their own game"-RICHARD DAWKINS"A wonderful bookbrilliant, unsettling, and beautifully written. Humphrey cuts bravely through the currents of contemporary thinking, opening up new vistas on old problems offering a feast of provocative ideas." -DANIEL DENNETT

The story of a quest to uncover the evolutionary history of consciousness from one of the world's leading theoretical psychologists.We feel, therefore we are. Conscious sensations ground our sense of self. They are crucial to our idea of ourselves as psychic present, existent, and mattering. But is it only humans who feel this way? Do other animals? Will future machines? Weaving together intellectual adventure and cutting-edge science, Nicholas Humphrey describes in Sentience his quest for from his discovery of blindsight in monkeys and his pioneering work on social intelligence to breakthroughs in the philosophy of mind.The goal is to solve the hard to explain the wondrous, eerie fact of “phenomenal consciousness”—the redness of a poppy, the sweetness of honey, the pain of a bee sting. What does this magical dimension of experience amount to? What is it for? And why has it evolved? Humphrey presents here his new solution. He proposes that phenomenal consciousness, far from being primitive, is a relatively late and sophisticated evolutionary development. The implications for the existence of sentience in nonhuman animals are startling and provocative.

A radically new view of the nature and purpose of consciousnessHow is consciousness possible? What biological purpose does it serve? And why do we value it so highly? In Soul Dust , the psychologist Nicholas Humphrey, a leading figure in consciousness research, proposes a startling new theory. Consciousness, he argues, is nothing less than a magical-mystery show that we stage for ourselves inside our own heads. This self-made show lights up the world for us and makes us feel special and transcendent. Thus consciousness paves the way for spirituality, and allows us, as human beings, to reap the rewards, and anxieties, of living in what Humphrey calls the "soul niche."Tightly argued, intellectually gripping, and a joy to read, Soul Dust provides answers to the deepest questions. It shows how the problem of consciousness merges with questions that obsess us all―how life should be lived and the fear of death. Resting firmly on neuroscience and evolutionary theory, and drawing a wealth of insights from philosophy and literature, Soul Dust is an uncompromising yet life-affirming work―one that never loses sight of the majesty and wonder of consciousness.

"Consciousness matters. Arguably it matters more than anything. The purpose of this book is to build towards an explanation of just what the matter is." Nicholas Humphrey begins this compelling exploration of the biggest of big questions with a challenge to the reader, and himself. What's involved in "seeing red"? What is it like for us to see someone else seeing something red? Seeing a red screen tells us a fact about something in the world. But it also creates a new fact--a sensation in each of our minds, the feeling of redness. And that's the mystery. Conventional science so far hasn't told us what conscious sensations are made of, or how we get access to them, or why we have them at all. From an evolutionary perspective, what's the point of consciousness? Humphrey offers a daring and novel solution, arguing that sensations are not things that happen to us , they are things we do --originating in our primordial ancestors' expressions of liking or disgust. Tracing the evolutionary trajectory through to human beings, he shows how this has led to sensations playing the key role in the human sense of Self. The Self, as we now know it from within, seems to have fascinating other-worldly properties. It leads us to believe in mind-body duality and the existence of a soul. And such beliefs--even if mistaken--can be highly adaptive, because they increase the value we place on our own and others' lives. "Consciousness matters," Humphrey concludes with striking paradox, "because it is its function to matter. It has been designed to create in human beings a Self whose life is worth pursuing."

Where does consciousness come from? What is it? Where is it taking us?In 1971 Nicholas Humphrey spent three months at Dian Fossey's gorilla research centre in Rwanda. It was there, among the mountain gorillas that he began to focus on the philosophical and scientific puzzle that has fascinated him ever since: the problem of how a human being or animal can know what it is like to be itself. The Inner Eye describes where these original speculations led: to Humphrey's now celebrated theories of the 'social function of intellect' and of human beings as natural born 'mind-readers'. Easy to read, adorned with Mel Calman's brilliant illustrations, passionately argued, yet never less than scientifically profound, this book remains the best introduction to new thinking about 'theory of mind' and its implication for human social life.

"Elegant and literate" -THE TIMES OF LONDON"The kind of book that both skeptics and believers would do well to read"- SKEPTICAL INQUIRER"An urbane, original, convincing rebuttal of paranormal and supernatural notions" -NEW SCIENTIST"A lively, entertaining book... Humphrey has set himself a larger task than simply explaining why people believe in the task of explaining why it is irrational to believe in it."-NATURE

Nicholas Humphrey's writings about the evolution of the mind have done much to set the agenda for contemporary psychology. Here, in a series of riveting essays, he invites us to 'take another look' at a variety of the central and not-so-central the evolution of consciousness, thenature of the self, multiple personality disorder, the placebo effect, cave art, religious miracles, medieval animal trials, the seductions of dictatorship, and much more.

Essays discuss the evolution of consciousness, self-knowledge, aesthetics, religious ecstasy, ghosts, and dreams

The mind is the brain. Each mental state -- each hope, fear, thought -- can be identified with a particular physical state of the brain, without remainder. So argues Nicholas Humphrey in this highly readable yet scholarly essay. He offers strong support for his "identity theory" from evolution. His controversial claim is discussed and challenged in commentaries by authors such as Andy Clark ( Being There , 1997), Daniel Dennett ( Consciousness Explained , 1991; Darwin's Dangerous Idea , 1995) and Ralph Ellis ( Questioning Consciousness , 1995). Humphrey rounds off the book with a response to his critics. An excellent short introduction to the mind-body problem and the study of consciousness.

Nicholas Humphrey’s writings about the evolution of the mind have done much to set the agenda for contemporary psychology. Here, in a series of riveting essays, he invites us to "take another look" at a variety of the central and not-so-central the evolution of consciousness, the nature of the self, multiple personality disorder, the placebo effect, cave art, religious miracles, mediaeval animal trials, the seductions of dictatorship, and much more. "Nicholas Humphrey writes so elegantly, he turns thinking into a positive pleasure." Richard Dawkins

How many of us believe in telepathy? Or in ghosts? Or the power of prayer? In this provocative and disturbing book Nicholas Humphrey discusses why so many people still cling, like children seeking reassurance, to belief in supernatural an immaterial soul, universal connectedness and life after death. Using a novel approach, the 'Argument from Unwarranted Design', Humphrey mounts a devastating critique of the existing evidence for the paranormal, ranging from miracles to the laboratory evidence for extrasensory perception. He asks why so many sensible people nonetheless refuse to give up the search, and especially why certain exceptional individuals may still become convinced they themselves have supernatural powers. He explains the psychology of what he calls "paranormal fundamentalism" — the unshakable belief that, whatever the evidence, "there must be something there", and traces this to our deep-seated attachment to a mind-body dualism. In the end, Humphrey argues, it is not only the facts of science but the laws of logic that rule out the truth of most paranormal claims. Yet does this mean the real world we live in is poorer than it might be? Far from it. In a surprising twist, he concludes that the world as it is, governed by natural laws without the possibility of psychic powers or supernatural intervention, has been and is the best cradle for human development. Leaps of Faith is a witty, philosophical, shocking, and thoroughly absorbing look at our most closely held beliefs about religion, nature, and each other.

Where does consciousness come from? What is it? Where is it taking us? In 1971 Nicholas Humphrey spent three months at Dian Fossey's gorilla research centre in Rwanda. It was there, among the mountain gorillas that he began to focus on the philosphical and scientific puzzle that has fascinated him ever the problem of how a human being or animal can know what it is like to be itself. The Inner Eye describes where these original speculations to Humphrey's now celebrated theories of the 'social function of intellect' and of human beings as natural born 'mind-readers'. Easy to read, passionately argued, yet never less than scientifically profound, this book remains the best introduction to new thinking about 'theory of mind' and its implication for human social life.

Poets from Sappho to Rober Lowell, historians from Thucydides to Edward Thompson, and dreamers from St John the Divine to Bob Dylan all illustrate the insanity of war in this moving anthology for a nuclear age. "This book is the most painful and the most important published for many a long year." John Fowles, The Guardian.

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正版授权 卖家 : Boolee 加微信[soweinc]每天分享好书,邀你加入国际微信群学习交流.微信好友低至5优惠 .书名:灵魂之尘：意识的魔法简介:作者:尼古拉斯·汉弗莱(Nicholas Humphrey)出版社:浙江大学出版社出版时间:2017年10月装订方式:平装-胶订分类:哲学/宗教|哲学|哲学知识读物

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¿Cómo fue que el agua del cerebro se convirtió en el vino de la conciencia? ¿Cuándo adquirió la materia las cualidades de la mente? En este libro penetrante e informativo, Nicholas Humphrey, psicólogo experimental de prestigio internacional, guía al lector en un viaje que abarca millones de años, en busca de las claves del modo como evolucionó la conciencia. En Una Historia de la mente, Humphrey propone una teoría nueva y radical. Al explorar la división entre sensación y percepción, muestra cómo las sensaciones crudas se hallan en el centro de todos los estados "Siento, luego soy". Y describe cómo la conciencia sensorial -nuestra percatación de "cómo es ser nosotros mismos"- puede haberse desarrollado a partir de las respuestas corporales del dolor y placer de nuestros antepasados primitivos. Desde el "dolor fantasma", experimentado por personas que han perdido algún miembro, hasta la misteriosa facultad de la "visión a ciegas" (visión inconsciente), Humphrey nos guía hacía los íntimos mecanismos de nuestra mente y vuelve comprensibles las cuestiones más difíciles. En su recorrido, Una historia de la mente va cubriendo distintas á cómo nuestros gustos y rechazos de los colores reflejan nuestra historia evolutiva; qué tienen para decirnos los mellizos siameses acerca de la relación con nuestro propio cuerpo; y cómo el LSD y la mescalina expanden la experiencia del "tiempo subjetivo". La relación entre alma y cuerpo es uno de los grandes desafíos aún planteados a la ciencia y a la filosofía. Nicholas Humphrey osa resolver el "problema mente-cuerpo..." y puede que ya no volvamos a mirarnos a nosotros mismos del mismo modo.

Libro usado en buenas condiciones, por su antiguedad podria contener señales normales de uso