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The Evolution of Consciousness is nothing less than a
fundamental challenge to our assumptions about the human mind and how it works.
It represents the culmination of Robert Ornstein's lifelong research on the structure
and function of the human brain and is destined to become a classic. In
the twenty years since Robert Ornstein first published his groundbreaking The
Psychology of Consciousness, the world has changed dramatically and so has
our place in it. In order to survive in our world Ornstein believes that we must
do nothing less than redirect our minds. As he says, "There will be no further
evolution without conscious evolution." But first we must understand from
the dawn of evolution how our minds developed. In a provocative
and entertaining style and drawing on the most up-to-date evolutionary science,
Ornstein puts forth a number of challenging, even revolutionary ideas. To explain
the central mystery of the mind -- why we are so advanced relative to our nearest
ancestors -- Ornstein posits that the human mind is an accident of nature. Our
cortex enlarged to keep the brain cool and once that happened, extra cells became
available to be recruited for other as-yet-unforeseen functions, such as writing
operas, inventing microchips, and creating smog. We learn
that we are adaptive, not rational, and that Darwin -- not Freud -- is the central
scientist of the modern mind. Our minds, like all else on Earth, evolved to help
us survive in our environment -- to get food, avoid danger, and find the right
mate -- not to reason why. This adaptive mind, which tries to make sense of the
world, uses the same process at all times, whether it is dreaming at night, recollecting
our childhoods, or imaging a new home. Dreams and memories are illusions, constructs
made in much the same way anthropologists construct whole beasts from a bone or
two. And Ornstein explodes the myth of the "self."
We think our conscious mind, "the self," is in control, but in fact
it is a small isolated part of the mind, sometimes called into play by consciousness,
most often on the sidelines. We have many minds that shift into place, and "we"
are not the same person from moment to moment, not the same "self" at
all. The Evolution of Consciousness offers a
challenging new perspective. The world we adapted to is gone and we need to do
nothing less than adapt anew. A tribal mind has no place in a global world.
Here is science as narrative. Full of wonderful examples, stories,
and passion -- and illustrated throughout -- The Evolution of Consciousness
is a major achievement. Robert Ornstein's previous
works include The Psychology of Consciousness and Multimind. He
is coauthor of several books, most recently Healthy Pleasures. He is a
well-known and exciting lecturer and the president of the Institute for the Study
of Human Knowledge. He lives in Los Altos, California. |
