Weiskrantz held the chair of psychology at Oxford for 26 years and scrutinised blindsight for roughly as long. Yet Consciousness Lost and Found reads like the close of an era, rather than a summary of one that promises to explain brain function afresh. It has the flavour of an old book informed by earlier theories that have not held up.
Review
`The disorders of cognition exhibited by neurological patients provide the most dramatic evidence that consciousness is open to scientific investigation. This book presentsthe first major survey and detailed analysis of the evidence. It is written by Larry Weiskrantz, one of the leading investigators of two key syndromes - blindsight and amnesia - and reflects thirty years of study of the subtle issues involved.' Tim Shallice, University College London
`Weiskrankz is one of the truly great neuropsychologists of the century. His discovery of blindsight, for example, brought philsophy and neuroscience into contact on the issuew of the brain's basis for awareness. The revolutionary blindsight results knocked the stuffing out of the `obvious' assumption that awareness of a signal is necessary for an intentional response to that signal.' Patricia Smith Churchland, University of California, San Diego.
`Weiskrantz's book adds a little to our understanding of consciousness and awareness and provides some assistance to whose who try to assess or improve animal welfare.' Animal Welfare
`'...Nowhere in this account are the long, demanding hours of experimentation left behind. Without this painstaking work, he is saying, these conditions could simply not be understood...a fascinating account of the neuropsychological data arising from certain neglext syndromes and how these are shedding light on the neural basis of awareness...His book reveals his own important contribution to our understanding of the neural mechanisms of awareness.'' Jonathan Cole, Jnl of Consciousness Studies, Vol.5, no.2, 1998.
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