Nicholas Humphrey

The Invention of Consciousness

Sentience

How does the water of the brain yield the wine of conscious experience? What is the link between bodily activity and our inner feeling of what its like to be ourselves? The problem of qualia-the so-called "hard problem" of consciousness-has intrigued philosophers, for generations, and remains the greatest challenge to contemporary science. In this path-breaking book, Nicholas Humphrey examines the issues in the fight of evolutionary history and proposes a solution very different from any previously offered. He suggests that instead of focusing on second-order mental faculties, or "thoughts about thoughts," we need to look at the raw sensations themselves that are central to all conscious states. He takes the reader on an exhilarating journey through little-known areas of biology, psychology, and philosophy, to discover the origins of all forms of self-awareness in the primitive pain and pleasure responses of our distant ancestors. Packed with psychological information and ingenious speculation, A History of the Mind not only recasts the debate about the nature of conscious experience but provides fascinating insights into many other topics along the way. Already a classic, this book is as informative and entertaining as it is profound.

Evolution and the Birth of Consciousness

A History of the Mind

We feel therefore we are. Conscious sensations ground our sense of self. They are essential to our idea of ourselves as psychic beings: present, existent, and mattering. But is it only humans who feel this way? Do other animals? Will future machines? To answer these questions we need a scientific understanding of consciousness: what it is and why it has evolved. Nicholas Humphrey has been researching these issues for fifty years. In this extraordinary book, weavingtogether intellectual adventure, cutting-edge science, and his own breakthrough experiences, he tells the story of his quest to uncover the evolutionary history of consciousness: from his discovery of blindsight after brain damage in monkeys, to hanging out with mountain gorillas in Rwanda, tobecoming a leading philosopher of mind. Out of this, he has come up with an explanation of conscious feeling - 'phenomenal consciousness' - that he presents here in full for the first time. Building on this theory of how phenomenal consciousness is generated in the human brain, he turns to the morally crucial question of whether it exists in non-human creatures. His conclusions, on the evidence as it stands, are radical. Contrary to both popular and much scientific opinion, he argues thatphenomenal consciousness is a relatively recent evolutionary innovation, present only in warm-blooded creatures, mammals and birds. Invertebrates, such as octopuses and bees, for all their intelligence, are in this respect unfeeling zombies. And for now, but not necessarily for ever, so are man-mademachines.

How is consciousness possible? What biological purpose does it serve? And why do we value it so highly? In Soul Dust, the psychologist Nicholas Humphrey, a leading figure in consciousness research, proposes a startling new theory. Consciousness, he argues, is nothing less than a magical-mystery show that we stage for ourselves inside our own heads. This self-made show lights up the world for us and makes us feel special and transcendent. Thus consciousness paves the way for spirituality, and allows us, as human beings, to reap the rewards, and anxieties, of living in what Humphrey calls the "soul niche." Tightly argued, intellectually gripping, and a joy to read, Soul Dust provides answers to the deepest questions. It shows how the problem of consciousness merges with questions that obsess us all--how life should be lived and the fear of death. Resting firmly on neuroscience and evolutionary theory, and drawing a wealth of insights from philosophy and literature, Soul Dust is an uncompromising yet life-affirming work--one that never loses sight of the majesty and wonder of consciousness.

The Magic of Consciousness

Soul Dust

Professor of Psychology at the New School NY and Senior Research Fellow Nicholas Humphrey

"Consciousness matters. Arguably it matters more than anything. The purpose of this book is to build towards an explanation of just what the matter is." Nicholas Humphrey begins this compelling exploration of the biggest of big questions with a challenge to the reader, and himself. What's involved in "seeing red"? What is it like for us to see someone else seeing something red? Seeing a red screen tells us a fact about something in the world. But it also creates a new fact--a sensation in each of our minds, the feeling of redness. And that's the mystery. Conventional science so far hasn't told us what conscious sensations are made of, or how we get access to them, or why we have them at all. From an evolutionary perspective, what's the point of consciousness? Humphrey offers a daring and novel solution, arguing that sensationsare not things that happen to us, they are things we do--originating in our primordial ancestors' expressions of liking or disgust. Tracing the evolutionary trajectory through to human beings, he shows how this has led to sensations playing the key role in the human sense of Self. The Self, as we now know it from within, seems to have fascinating other-worldly properties. It leads us to believe in mind-body duality and the existence of a soul. And such beliefs--even if mistaken--can be highly adaptive, because they increase the value we place on our own and others' lives. "Consciousness matters," Humphrey concludes with striking paradox, "because it is its function to matter. It has been designed to create in human beings a Self whose life is worth pursuing."

A Study in Consciousness

Seeing Red

Where does consciousness come from? What is it? Where is it taking us? In 1971 Nicholas Humphrey spent three months at Dian Fossey's gorilla research centre in Rwanda. It was there, among the mountain gorillas that he began to focus on the philosophical and scientific puzzle that has fascinated him ever since: the problem of how a human being or animal can know what it is like to be itself. The Inner Eye describes where these original speculations led: to Humphrey's now celebrated theories of the 'social function of intellect' and of human beings as natural born 'mind-readers'. Easy to read, adorned with Mel Calman's brilliant illustrations, passionately argued, yet never less than scientifically profound, this book remains the best introduction to new thinking about 'theory of mind' and its implication for human social life.

The Inner Eye

The story of a quest to uncover the evolutionary history of consciousness from one of the world's leading theoretical psychologists. We feel, therefore we are. Conscious sensations ground our sense of self. They are crucial to our idea of ourselves as psychic beings: present, existent, and mattering. But is it only humans who feel this way? Do other animals? Will future machines? Weaving together intellectual adventure and cutting-edge science, Nicholas Humphrey describes in Sentience his quest for answers: from his discovery of blindsight in monkeys and his pioneering work on social intelligence to breakthroughs in the philosophy of mind. The goal is to solve the hard problem: to explain the wondrous, eerie fact of “phenomenal consciousness”—the redness of a poppy, the sweetness of honey, the pain of a bee sting. What does this magical dimension of experience amount to? What is it for? And why has it evolved? Humphrey presents here his new solution. He proposes that phenomenal consciousness, far from being primitive, is a relatively late and sophisticated evolutionary development. The implications for the existence of sentience in nonhuman animals are startling and provocative.

How is consciousness possible? What biological purpose does it serve? Why do we value it so highly? In Soul Dust the psychologist Nicholas Humphrey, a leading figure in consciousness research, returns to the front-line with a startling new theory. Consciousness, he argues, is nothing less than a magical-mystery show that we stage for ourselves inside our own heads. This self-made show lights up the world for us, making us feel special and transcendent. Tightly argued, intellectually gripping and a joy to read, Soul Dust is a keenly anticipated book that provides answers to the deepest questions. It dovetails the 'hard problem of consciousness' with the matters that obsess us all - the fear of death, how life should be lived. Resting firmly on neuroscience and evolutionary theory, it is an uncompromising yet life-affirming work that never loses sight of the majesty and mystery of consciousness.

In a series of essays, Nicholas Humphrey invites us to take another look at a variety of central and not-so-central issues, of contemporary psychology including: the evolution of consciousness, multiple personality disorder and cave art.

Essays from the Frontiers of Psychology and Evolution

The Mind Made Flesh

Tato ojedinělá populárněvědecká kniha se snaží hledat odpověď na zřejmě jednu z nejpodstatnějších lidských otázek: Co je to vědomí a jak vytváří a řeší problémy našeho života? Od této otázky se následně dostáváme k rozvíjení dalších myšlenek, např. jak vůbec může nějaká entita tvořená výlučně fyzickou hmotou, tedy člověk, zakoušet vědomé pocity a proč došlo během evoluce k vytvoření vědomí. Autor Nicholas Humphrey, úspěšný britský psycholog, zde spojuje preciznost kognitivní vědy, evoluční biologie, psychologie a antropologie s myšlenkami filosofů, básníků, spisovatelů či náboženských myslitelů. Podle jeho názoru za fenomenální kvalitu vědomé zkušenosti, za oddělení a podporu individualismu či za vznik celého společenství vděčíme rozvinutým mozkovým obvodům. Předkládá radikální teorii, že vědomí není ničím jiným než magickým a záhadným představením, které inscenujeme uvnitř své hlavy, přičemž vlastní fenomenální zkušenosti pak projektujeme ven do světa věcí. Neboli my jsme tím kouzelníkem, který barví věci „kouzelným prachem“ svého vlastního vědomí. To může sloužit i jako důkaz, že život právě díky vědomí stojí za to, aby byl plně žit na několika rovinách.

aneb Kouzlo našeho vědomí

Prach duše

"Elegant and literate" -THE TIMES OF LONDON "The kind of book that both skeptics and believers would do well to read"- SKEPTICAL INQUIRER "An urbane, original, convincing rebuttal of paranormal and supernatural notions" -NEW SCIENTIST "A lively, entertaining book... Humphrey has set himself a larger task than simply explaining why people believe in parapsychology: the task of explaining why it is irrational to believe in it."-NATURE

Science, Miracles, and the Search for Supernatural Consolation

Leaps of Faith

Humphrey's principal paper is followed by commentaries on Humphrey's theory, which consist of ten essays by various authors, and then followed by Humphrey's reply to commentators.

How to Solve the Mind-body Problem

Nicholas HUMPHREY

Beginning with the seemingly simple act of seeing red, this brilliantly unsettling essay builds toward an explanation of why consciousness makes compelling evolutionary sense. From sensations that probably began in bodily expression to the evolutionary advantages of a conscious self, Seeing Red tracks the "hard problem" of consciousness to its source and its solution, a solution in which the very hardness of the problem may make all the difference.

Nicholas Humphrey

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