How it is that we share some aspects of consciousness with bacteria? How can consciousness arise in artificial machines? And what does consciousness have to do with our survival in the face of the unfolding climate catastrophe? These, and many other fundamental questions about consciousness, are explored in Shimon Edelman’s new book The Consciousness Revolutions: From Amoeba Awareness to Human Emancipation (Springer Nature, 2023).

In a live Chats in the Stacks book talk Edelman, professor in the Department of Psychology, will discuss how consciousness is fundamentally a kind of computation and how through the understanding of human consciousness we can develop better insights into the nature of our lived experience, our problems, our social dynamics, and our shared future.  

This talk is hosted by Mann Library. Light refreshments will be served.