The Remembered Present: A Biological Theory of Consciousness [Hardcover]

Gerald Edelman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 046506910X | ISBN-13: 978-0465069101 | Publication Date: March 8, 1990 | Edition: 1

A genuine understanding of how mental states arise from the structure and function of the brain would be, as William James declared in 1892, ”the scientific achievement before which all past achievements would pale.” Can a comprehensive biological theory of consciousness be constructed in 1990? Any attempt has to reconcile evidence garnered from such diverse fields as developmental and evolutionary biology, neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, cognitive psychology, psychiatry, and philosophy.Having laid the groundwork in his critically acclaimed books Neural Darwinism (Basic Books, 1987) and Topobiology (Basic Books, 1988), Nobel laureate Gerald M. Edelman now proposes a comprehensive theory of consciousness in The Remembered Present. Integrating findings generated by the recent explosive growth in the neurosciences with current knowledge of anatomy, cell biology, and psychology, Edelman has been able to construct a detailed model of how we become aware of our own existence.In addition to providing a scientific account of brain function and consciousness, the theory advanced in The Remembered Present will have a significant impact on a wide variety of fields. It provides a new outlook that may prompt fundamental revisions in the way linguists view language, physicians classify mental diseases, and philosophers look at the mind-body problem.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gerald M. Edelman is director of the Neurosciences Institute and chairman of the Department of Neurobiology at the Scripps Research Institute. He received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1972. He is also the author of Bright Air, Brilliant Fire; Tobiology; and The Remembered Present.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1 edition (March 8, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 046506910X
• ISBN-13: 978-0465069101
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,112,001 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Fundamental Neural Architecture of Consciousness, February 9, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Remembered Present: A Biological Theory of Consciousness (Hardcover)

Edelman, in the third of three books which discusses the Theory of Neuronal Group Selection, grapples with the fundamental neuronal architecture which comprises consciousness.This work is excellent, although the text becomes disappointingly vague about half-way through; intriguing theories are presented, but not supported, with the rigor pursued by Edelman in his earlier volume "Neuronal Darwinism."

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provocative and prescient, November 27, 2010

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N. Newport (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Remembered Present: A Biological Theory of Consciousness (Hardcover)

Having recently read several books by Gerald Edelman, including "Neural Darwinism" and "Topobiology", the predecessors to "The Remembered Present", I want to note that Edelman carefully and repeatedly states what is speculative about his Theory of Neuronal Group Selection and its role in the emergence of consciousness. Unlike the prior reviewer, I found nothing "vague" in Edelman's text, nor do I believe it lacks the "rigor" of its predecessors. "The Remembered Present" clearly references the more complete (rigorous, if you will) analyses in Edelman's prior books. His stated intent here is to extend and apply those analyses to more speculative terrain. In my judgment, he does so judiciously and effectively. Edelman's key hypotheses have weathered surprisingly well. Several books on the brain published by reputable neuroscientists during the last few years come to essentially the same conclusions as Edelman . . . a generation later. Some (e.g., Antonio Damasio, Joseph LeDoux) cite Edelman's earlier work; others ignore it, conspicuously so when they confirm with their own experimental evidence and published conclusions what he hypothesized more comprehensively years ago.

I will not even attempt to do justice to the breadth or detail of Edelman's analysis, but if you are curious about the nature of reality as we perceive it, as well as human consciousness and how it has evolved, Edelman is an essential source. Please note, however, that Edelman falls outside the the mainstream of cognitive neuroscience, something you might already have inferred from the last sentence of my preceding paragraph. He won a Nobel Prize for his work in immunology and his view of neuroscience is explicitly influenced by his knowledge of that field. He crashed the neuroscience party with expertise in the biology of the entire body. Personally, I find a view of the brain and consciousness rooted in immunology and nearly four billion years of evolution much more compelling than what I have seen in hypotheses derived from information processing, quantum physics or philosophical speculation.