Consciousness and the Social Brain

"Theories of consciousness are a dime a dozen. This one is different. Here is what makes Graziano's central idea distinctive: it makes sense - good scientific and logical sense. It fits with what we know about brain anatomy and physiology. It accounts for a wide swath of psychological data and clinical data. It does not peddle the preposterous nor rely on semantic mumbo jumbo. It has no gigantic holes it has to pretend not to notice. It connects to other reasonable approaches deftly and productively. It is masterfully clear. It is surprising in places, and probably wrong in some places, as any rich and deep theory inevitably is. The central idea, however, is quite probably right, or very close to. Almost invariably I find that I hurl books on consciousness to the floor midway through. Not this one." Patricia S. Churchland, PhD, Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of California, San Diego "Orchestrating how our personal awareness jives with the stuff we think about has eluded us all. Graziano has a plausible and rich theory about how it all articulates without giving away the store, and he explains it vividly." Michael S. Gazzaniga, PhD, Director, Sage Center for the Study of Mind "Graziano proposes a new and intriguing theory of consciousness.. Graziano guides readers step-by-step through his captivating and convincing theory of consciousness, explaining how the theory accounts for many oddities in human perception. This book is an essential read for anyone interested in consciousness from either a scientific or philosophical perspective." -- Library Journal