A Cognitive Theory of Consciousness - Tapa dura

'A clear-eyed, open-minded analysis of the problems of consciousness, and a wide-ranging synthesis of a variety of approaches. For those who want to join the race to model consciousness, this is the starting line.' Daniel C. Dennett

'With this model, the author sweeps through dozens of phenomena that are well known to students of sensation, perception, learning abstraction, language, thinking, and problem solving. In each case he interprets the model in terms of the global model workplace and thus produces an admirable piece of scholarship. The most enduring contribution of the book may be its challenge to cognitive scientists to return to their roots, to describe and explain consciousness. Without a decent theory of consciousness, cognitive science may be adrift. If that is so, then (this work) deserves to be read by many.' Contemporary Psychology

'The book includes 'numerous whimsical experiments ... in order to demonstrate points best appreciated experimentally. Anyone with a playful nature will find these illustrations captivating.' Contemporary Psychiatry

'The powerful core of Baars' model of consciousness is the global workspace, a kind of central bulletin board. It allows scores of specialized mental subsystems (expert but narrow) to contribute to the resolution of novel problems. Baars is careful and thoughtful, and shows constant concern for the testability of his ideas.' Dr. David Galin, Langley Porter Psychiatry Institute, University of California, San Francisco

Conscious experience is one of the most difficult and thorny problems in psychological science. Its study has been neglected for many years, either because it was thought to be too difficult, or because the relevant evidence was thought to be poor. Bernard Baars suggests a way to specify empirical constraints on a theory of consciousness by contrasting well-established conscious phenomena - such as stimulus representations known to be attended, perceptual, and informative - with closely comparable unconscious ones - such as stimulus representations known to be preperceptual, unattended, or habituated. Adducing data to show that consciousness is associated with a kind of global workplace in the nervous system, and that several brain structures are known to behave in accordance with his theory, Baars helps to clarify many difficult problems.