Phi: A Voyage from the Brain to the Soul Book

CONTENTS
Preface Prologue

1 The Dream of Galileo
 
Part I: EVIDENCE: Experiments of Nature
 
2 Introduction
Displacements
 
3 Cerebrum
In which is shown that the corticothalamic system generates consciousness
 
4 Cerebellum
In which is shown that the cerebellum, while having more neurons than the cerebrum, does not generate consciousness
 
5 Two Blind Painters
In which is shown that sensory inputs and pathways are not necessary for consciousness
 
6 A Brain Locked In
In which is shown that motor outputs and pathways are not necessary for consciousness, nor are they sufficient
 
7 Empress Without Memory
In which is shown that many brain circuits that help us see, hear, remember, speak, and act are not necessary for consciousness
 
8 A Brain Split
In which is shown that consciousness is divided if the brain is split
 
9 A Brain Conflicted
In which is said that consciousness can split if different regions of the brain refuse to talk to each other
 
10 A Brain Possessed
In which is shown that when cortical neurons fire strongly and synchronously, as during certain seizures, consciousness fades
 
11 A Brain Asleep
In which is shown that when cortical neurons can be on and off only together, as during dreamless sleep, consciousness fades
 
Part II: THEORY: Experiments of Thought
 
12 Introduction
The Enigma of Consciousness
 
13 Galileo and the Photodiode
In which is shown that the humble photodiode can tell light from dark as well as Galileo
 
14 Information: The Manifold Repertoire
In which is shown that the repertoire of possible experiences is as large as one can imagine
 
15 Galileo and the Camera
In which is shown that the sensor of a digital camera has a large repertoire of possible states, perhaps larger than Galileo’s
 
16 Integrated Information: The Many and the One
In which is shown that consciousness lives where information is integrated by a single entity above and beyond its parts
 
17 Galileo and the Bat
In which is feared that the quality of experience cannot be derived from matter
 
18 Seeing Dark (Deconstructing Darkness)
In which is said that darkness does not exist in a void but requires a context
 
19 The Meaning of Dark (Constructing Darkness)
In which is shown that darkness is built of many nested mechanisms that specify what it is not
 
20 The Palace of Light
In which is shown that an experience is a shape made of integrated information
 
21 The Garden of Qualia
In which is said that the universe is mostly dark, but the largest stars are closer than one thinks, if they are looked at with the proper instrument
 
Part III: IMPLICATIONS: A Universe of Consciousness
 
22 Introduction
Sparks and Flames
 
23 Nightfall I: Death
In which is said that, if consciousness is integrated information, it dissolves with death
 
24 Nightfall II: Dementia
In which is said that consciousness disintegrates with dementia
 
25 Nightfall III: Dolor
In which is said that, if the quality of consciousness is a shape made of integrated information, it can be turned into the only real and eternal Hell
 
26 Twilight I: Consciousness Diminished
In which is said that consciousness can be present in the absence of language and reflection
 
27 Twilight II: Consciousness Evolving
In which is said that animals are conscious, too
 
28 Twilight III: Consciousness Developing
In which is said that consciousness must be present, to some degree, even before birth
 
29 Daylight I: Consciousness Exploring
In which is said that, by investigating nature, new qualia are discovered
 
30 Daylight II: Consciousness Imagining
In which is said that art and imagination invent new shapes within the mind
 
31 Daylight III: Consciousness Growing
In which is said that, by growing consciousness, the universe comes more into being, the synthesis of one and many
 
32 Epilogue
Three Late Dreams
 
33 Afterthoughts Study Questions
 
Acknowledgments Illustration Credits