Beloved professor distills a lifetime of study into singular work on consciousness. "Consciousness - An Introduction," by Susan Blackmore.

Why Read It.

The Perennial Philosophy posits that consciousness is a fundamental and universal aspect of existence. It is the very fabric of existence that unites all living beings, and is even the basic substrate of mind and matter. It often sees individual human consciousness as part of, or a reflection of, a larger, unifying consciousness that pervades all of existence. The study of consciousness, therefore, is quite helpful as one maps out reality with the mind and heart.

Susan Blackmore’s “Consciousness: An Introduction,” provides a sweeping account of the history of consciousness studies. Blackmore cycles through dozens of historical figures and their respective contributions to consciousness studies, and she does it with sharp critical thinking. This fusion of scientific inquiry with topics like the illusion of self and altered states of consciousness encourages a deeper introspection and understanding, making the book a thought-provoking read for those seeking to deepen their grasp of consciousness from both a scientific and philosophical standpoint.

Overview

“Consciousness: An Introduction” by Susan Blackmore serves as a comprehensive guide through the complex landscape of consciousness studies. Blackmore, a psychologist and writer, approaches the subject with a blend of scientific rigor and accessible prose, making the book a standout in the field.

The book is structured to provide readers a comprehensive overview of the history of consciousness studies, and it leads readers through various facets of consciousness. It begins with foundational questions: What is consciousness? How can it be defined and studied? Blackmore explores these questions through the lens of psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, providing a multidisciplinary perspective.

A significant portion of the book is dedicated to the exploration of different states of consciousness, such as waking, dreaming, and altered states induced by substances or meditation. Blackmore examines how these states affect perception, memory, and the sense of self, offering insights into how our brains construct reality.

Key Takeaways

The Illusion of Self: Blackmore explores how our sense of self is constructed and the role consciousness plays in this process. A key aspect of Perennial Philosophy is the concept of becoming aware of the conditioned mind and moving into the ‘True Self.’ Blackmore’s discussions about the construction and illusion of the self in consciousness studies provides scientific context to this Perennial Philosophy notion. Understanding how the sense of self is formed and perceived in the brain can offer a nuanced perspective on the Perennial Philosophy’s teachings about self and ego.
History of Consciousness Studies. Blackmore meticulously traces the evolution of thought and research in the field of consciousness studies, starting from ancient philosophical inquiries to modern scientific investigations. She highlights how perspectives on consciousness have shifted over time, influenced by developments in psychology, neuroscience, and technology. This historical context is crucial, as it shows how our current understanding is built on a rich tapestry of ideas, theories, and experiments, some of which have been revised or even overturned as new discoveries emerge.
Consciousness & Buddhism: Blackmore, who has a keen interest in Zen Buddhism, delves into how Buddhist concepts correlate with contemporary understandings of consciousness. She discusses the Buddhist view of the self as an illusion and its alignment with the scientific perspective that the continuous self is a construct of the brain. This intersection offers a unique perspective, showing how ancient spiritual wisdom and modern scientific research can converge in understanding the nature of consciousness.
Human Consciousness & The Brain. Blackmore dives deep into how brain processes and structures correlate with conscious experiences. She discusses the latest neuroscience research, including brain imaging studies, to illustrate how specific areas of the brain are involved in different aspects of consciousness, such as perception, attention, and memory. This focus underscores a fundamental point in consciousness studies: while consciousness remains a profoundly complex and somewhat mysterious phenomenon, much of it is deeply rooted in the physical workings of the brain.
The ‘Hard Problem’ of Consciousness: The book delves into the ‘hard problem’, which is understanding why physical brain processes produce subjective experiences. Blackmore presents this as a central puzzle in consciousness studies, exploring various theories without advocating for a definitive solution. She also highlights the limit of scientific understanding, which aligns with the Perennial Philosophy’s view of certain truths or aspects of consciousness being beyond the scope of empirical science, requiring introspection or spiritual insight.

Quotes

“Every year I give this same warning to my students — both verbally and in writing. Studying consciousness will change your life. Have fun.”

“Selves are biological products just as spiders’ webs or bowerbirds’ bowers are. They appeared gradually during evolution, and they are built gradually in each of our lives. Every individual Homo sapiens makes it own self, spinning a web out of words and deeds to build a protective string of narrative. Like spiders and bowerbirds, it doesn’t have to know what it’s doing; it just does it. The result is a web of discourses, without which an individual human being is as incomplete as a bird without feathers or a turtle without its shell.”

“Psychoactive drugs are all those that have effects on mental functioning or consciousness. In some form or other they are found in every society, and human beings seem to have a natural appetite for taking them. They can be broadly classified into several major groups, most of which are mentioned only briefly here, with the emphasis being on the last group, the psychedelics…Psychedelics have changed many people’s lives, encouraged them to value kindness and love above all and given them the conviction that, for once, they saw things as they really are.”

“One point that Buddhism and psychology both make is that our experience is, in some sense, illusory. Since an illusion is not something that does not exist but something that is not what it seems, this leaves plenty of room for different interpretations. In science we have already met the idea that the visual world might be a grand illusion, that the stream of consciousness might be illusory, as might both the self and free will. We can now see that there are distinct similarities between the illusions discussed in science and in Buddhism.”

“Might the psychologists, philosophers and neuroscientists working on the problem of consciousness see non-duality directly for themselves? If so, it seems possible that they might bring together two apparently totally different disciplines: the third-person discipline of science and the first-person discipline of self-transformation. If they did so, might they then understand exactly what had happened in their own brains when all the illusions fell away and the distinction between first and third person was gone? This way the direct experience of nonduality might be integrated into a neuroscience that only knows, intellectually, that dualism must be false.”