Consciousness: A Book of Thinking

What is consciousness, and why has it become such a controversial subject? Consciousness has been described as "simultaneously the most familiar and the most mysterious thing in the universe." It is something we experience in all our waking moments, yet science still struggles to agree about what it is or how it has arisen. Among the many controversies covered by the book is the current debate over artificial intelligence. Can non-biological creatures such as robots share the power that we call consciousness? This "Book of Thinking" takes an exceptionally broad approach by exploring what science, philosophy, and the arts have to say about consciousness. Sometimes these traditions clash and collide in their views, but each yields rich insights. The book presents a range of innovative ways to understand the nature of subjective experience.