ON CONSCIOUSNESS: Science & Subjectivity - Updated Works on Global Workspace Theory

by Bernard J. Baars, Natalie Geld (Editor)

Overview

"The works of Bernard Baars collected here are among the foundational texts of the scientific study of consciousness. Their influence in cognitive science and philosophy of mind is enormous, and their impact on my own thinking has been profound." —Murray Shanahan, Professor of Cognitive Robotics, Dept of Computing, ICL

Global Workspace Theory (GWT) began with this question: “How does a serial, integrated and very limited stream of consciousness emerge from a nervous system that is mostly unconscious, distributed, parallel and of enormous capacity?”

GWT is a widely used framework for the role of conscious and unconscious experiences in the functioning of the brain. A set of explicit assumptions that can be tested, as many of them have been. These updated works, from the recipient of INNS 2019 Hermann von Helmholtz Life Contribution Award, form a coherent effort to organize a large and growing body of scientific evidence about conscious brains. 

Throughout human history, people have perceived the conscious brain as the great nexus of human life, of social relationships, of their personal identities and histories, in encounters with new challenges. Consciousness under its many labels and manifestations is widely seen to be one of the core mysteries of life. Many therapeutic approaches can be viewed in a global workspace framework, including traditional psychodynamics and depth psychology, but also cognitive behavioral techniques, and, indeed, many other kinds of carefully studied human functions. Making progress in understanding consciousness therefore has an endless number of implications - philosophical, metaphysical, scientific, medical, clinical, and practical.

A valuable reference for technical audiences and a vigorous intellectual hike for the layman." —Kirkus Reviews

How can we understand the evidence? The best answer today is a ‘global workspace architecture,’ first developed by cognitive modeling groups led by Alan Newell and Herbert A. Simon. The term “global workspace” comes from Artificial Intelligence, where it refers to a fleeting memory domain that allows for cooperative problem-solving by large collections of specialized programs. Global Workspace Theory (GWT) therefore assumes that the brain can be viewed as a "society of mind." 

Global Workspace (GW) theory is consistent with our current knowledge, and can be enriched to include other aspects of human experience.

• Stan Franklin and co-workers have built on GWT to sketch out a more general theory of cognition - LIDA: Cognitive Architecture's Computational Implementation of GWT. 
• Stanislas Dehaene and Jean-Pierre Changeux in Paris developed experimentally testable models, making further testable claims about the brain basis of visual consciousness - The Dehaene-Changeux Model (DCM): Global Neuronal Workspace is Part of GWT.

Global Workspace Dynamics (GWD) is the most current version of GWT – attempting to account for complexities of the living brain. These updated works trace the beginnings of GWT/GWD through the continued rise of brain evidence and psychological understanding. On Consciousness is an indispensable addition to the library of both students and experts studying mind, brain, and behavior. 

"Bernie Baars is a giant on whose shoulders the future science of consciousness will stand." —Antti Revonsuo, PhD, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Skövde, Sweden

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781732904897
Publisher:	Nautilus Press
Publication date:	09/01/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	938
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Bernard J. Baars is best known as the originator of the global workspace theory, a theory of human cognitive architecture and consciousness. As professor of psychology at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, and as faculty member at the Wright Institute, he conducted research into the causation of human errors and the Freudian slip. A former Senior Fellow in Theoretical Neurobiology at The Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, CA., he is currently Editor in Chief of the Society for Mind Brain Sciences. Baars co-founded the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness and the Academic Press journal Consciousness&Cognition: An International Journal, which he also edited, with William P. Banks for fifteen years. Recipient of International Neural Network Society 2019 Hermann von Helmholtz Award recognizing scientific life contributions proven to be paradigm changing, which demonstrate outstanding research achievements in perception. In addition to research on global workspace theory with Professor Stan Franklin and others, Baars is working to re-introduce the topic of the conscious brain into the standard college and graduate school curriculum. Baars has also published on animal consciousness, volition, and feelings of knowing, and has published an approach to "higher" states, as defined in the meditation traditions. New brain recording methods continue to reveal unexpected evidence on those topics.
Creator of The Feeling Brain VisualCME series, Natalie founded MedNeuro to advance medical education in the neurobiology of emotion, and improve communication between highly specialized fields in science, medicine, the arts and humanities. Her work is influenced by decades of education design for public and private school systems, arts&literary organizations, and the general public, with productions and appearances viewed worldwide in major magazines and global networks. A science writer and editor, Natalie co-founded the Society for MindBrain Sciences and is the author of "Sensual Intelligence: An Introduction to Your Body's Language." Editor of the peer reviewed journal Frontiers in Blockchain: Blockchain for Good, of Dr. Baars' latest book, "On Consciousness: Science&Subjectivity," and co-author of an upcoming book with Baars for Oxford University Press about breakthroughs in consciousness science and the global workspace dynamics of the brain.

Table of Contents

"On Consciousness: Science & Subjectivity represents a landmark effort to comprehensively address, in an accessible way, the various dimensions of the global workspace, from its cognitive architecture to the living brain dynamics through which it is manifest. This book is an indispensable addition to the library of both students and experts who study consciousness.” —George A. Mashour, MD, PhD, Director, Center for Consciousness Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Global Workspace Theory (GWT) provides a widely used framework to date for our rapidly accumulating body of evidence of conscious and unconscious brain functions. Global Workspace Dynamics (GWD) is the most current version – attempting to account for complexities of the living brain. These updated works spanning 1988 - 2013 trace the beginnings of GWT/GWD through the continued rise of brain evidence and psychological understanding.

Since the rise of neuroimaging our brain evidence has improved spectacularly, and the biological basis of subjectivity has now become a recognized goal in the sciences. Far from contradicting each other, public and private evidence is generally mutually supportive. 

CONTENTS

Author’s Note 1

Cortex is the organ of mind. 10

PART I.

Consciousness Explored: Making sense of the evidence 13

Introduction 15

1. Conscious experiences 19

2. Unconscious states 31

3. General conclusions 33

4. Major features of conscious states and contents 35

5. Consciousness in philosophy and science 45

6. Consciousness in animals and machines 47

PART II.

A Scientific Approach to Consciousness 55

Introduction 57

1. You are conscious, and so am I. 61

2. Evidence. 89

3. A Working Theater of Consciousness. 99

PART III.

A Cognitive Theory of Consciousness 113

Preface 115

One: AN INTRODUCTION

1. What is to be explained? Some preliminaries 125

Two: THE BASIC MODEL

2. Model 1: Conscious representations are internally consistent and globally distributed 203

3. The neural basis of conscious experience 255

Three: THE FUNDAMENTAL ROLE OF FRAMES

4. Model 2: Unconscious frames shape conscious experience 275

5. Model 3: Conscious experience is informative — it always demands some degree of adaptation 321

Four: GOALS AND VOLUNTARY CONTROL

6. Model 4: Goal frames, spontaneous problem solving, and the stream of consciousness 375

7. Model 5: Volition as ideomotor control of thought and action 401

Five: ATTENTION, SELF, AND CONSCIOUS SELFMONITORING

8. Model 6: Attention as control of access to consciousness 459

9. Model 7: Self as the dominant frame of experience and action 487

Six: CONSCIOUSNESS IS FUNCTIONAL

10. The functions of consciousness 513

Seven: CONCLUSION

11. A summary and some future directions 527

Glossary and guide to theoretical claims 536

Conscious Access Themes 565

PART IV

Global workspace dynamics (GWD): Cortical “binding and propagation” enables conscious contents 571

Introduction 573

1. Dynamic Global Workspace: A functional hub of binding and propagation

in a population of loosely coupled signaling elements 575

2. States and Contents 601

3. Sensory Percepts vs. Feelings of Knowing 613

4. Voluntary Reports of Conscious Events 623

5. The Hippocampus and Conscious Contents: A Novel Prediction 627

6. Summary 629

Appendix 632

Acknowledgments 636

Notes 638

References 639

Extended Credits 668

Illustration & Image Credits 669

Editorial Reviews

PRAISE for ON CONSCIOUSNESS

"The works of Bernard Baars collected here are among the foundational texts of the scientific study of consciousness. Their influence in cognitive science and philosophy of mind is enormous, and their impact on my own thinking has been profound." —Murray Shanahan, Prof of Cognitive Robotics, Dept of Computing, ICL

"Bernie Baars is a giant on whose shoulders the future science of consciousness will stand." —Antti Revonsuo, PhD, Prof of Cognitive Neuroscience, Univ of Skövde, Sweden

“Quite simply, Bernard Baars has made the most important single contribution to consciousness studies since William James.” —Bruce Mangan, PhD, Institute of Cognitive Studies, UC Berkeley

"This corpus is a stunning achievement." —Patricia Churchland, PhD, UC President's Professor of Philosophy Emerita, UCSD

"Baars explains his influential theory in exquisite detail in this new volume, with many updates of his main writings. A bird's eye view of the brain with many exciting insights of its complex workings. An enjoyable read by an expert authority." —György Buzsáki, author, "The Brain From Inside Out"

"Consciousness will not become acceptable to science without 3 things: empirical evidence that overcomes the consciousness deniers, a satisfying account of subjectivity, and a global understanding of the mind's staggering complexity. Baars is perhaps our most important voice... and On Consciousness raises a high bar for all future exploration in the field.” —Deepak Chopra, MD, author, “Metahuman”

“A clear-eyed, open-minded analysis of the problems of consciousness, and a wide-ranging synthesis of a variety of approaches. For those who want to join the race to model consciousness, this is the starting line.” —Dan Dennett, author, "From Bacteria to Bach and Back: The Evolution of Minds"

"On Consciousness is an indispensable addition to the library of both students and experts who study consciousness.” —George A. Mashour, MD, PhD, Director, Center for Consciousness Science, Univ of Michigan

"...Baars’ compilation will be suitably challenging for those who’ve previously enjoyed such popular-science books as Luke Dittrich’s 2016 work Patient H.M. The author is humorously engaging while drawing readers into his complex studies, as when he notes that “consciousness science still resembles sex in the Victorian age: We know it’s there, but we tend to evade it.”

Within the text, he poses simple experiments for readers to try, such as attempting to “stop your inner speech for ten seconds.” Baars also presents evidence for consciousness in animals and refutes the concept of consciousness in machines: “Computer programs that seem to act like conscious beings do not provide empirical proof. The map is not the territory.” The third section is perhaps the most formidable one, as its greater length allows the author to offer more depth and breadth to his overall presentation. The Global Workspace Theory reveals insights into such subjects as PTSD and why rote activities, such as walking, stop impinging on the conscious mind enough to permit a second, simultaneous activity, such as listening to music. Some of the illustrations ... are beautiful and astonishingly detailed.

A valuable reference for technical audiences and a vigorous intellectual hike for the layman." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher