| Uniform title |
Emotions primordiales et l'eveil de la conscience. English.
|
| Physical description |
xxiii, 267 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some colour) ; 24 cm |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 247-257) and indexes. |
| Contents |
1. Introduction : the idea and context -- 2. The definition of consciousness, and self-awareness -- 3. What some distinguished scientists have proposed on the nature of consciousness : John Searle, Homer Smith, Vernon Mountcastle, and Roger Sperry -- 4. Consciousness in animals -- 5. The appetite for salt and the mind : intention in salt mining elephants -- 6. Phylogeny, and the emergence of primary consciousness : Edelman's theory -- 7. An interoceptor driven theory of origin of primary consciousness -- 8. The physiology of the primordial emotion of thirst -- 9. The neuroimaging of thirst by positron emission tomography -- 10. Neuroimaging of other primordial emotions, and also the second level distance receptor evoked emotions -- 11. Anatomical structure and physiological functions subserving higher order consciousness -- 12. The biology of emotion. |
| Summary |
"Consciousness did not develop suddenly in humans - it evolved gradually. In The Primordial Emotions, Derek Denton, a world renowned expert on animal instinct and a leader in integrative physiology, investigates the evolution of consciousness. Central to the book is the idea that the primal emotions - elements of instinctive behaviour - were the first dawning of consciousness. Throughout he examines instinctive behaviours, such as hunger for air, hunger for minerals, thirst, and pain, arguing that the emotions elicited from these behaviours and desire for gratification culminated in the first conscious states. To develop the theory he looks at behaviour at different levels of the evolutionary tree, for example of octopuses, fish, snakes, birds, and elephants. Coupled with findings from neuroimaging studies, and the viewpoints on consciousness from some of the key figures in philosophy and neuroscience, the book presents an accessible and groundbreaking new look at the problem of consciousness."--BOOK JACKET. |
| Subject |
Emotions.
|
|
Consciousness.
|
|
Mind and body.
|
| ISBN |
0199203148 (hardback) |
| Standard Number |
9780199203147 (hbk.) |
|
