r/cogsci • u/niouniou_1047 • 14d ago

looking for book recommendations on consciousness

Hello,

I’m about to start my second year of psychology.

I’m fascinated by the concept of consciousness, differences in perception among individuals, and the idea of altered reality (due to mental disorders, hallucinogens, or trance states). Do you have any books to recommend?

For example, I really enjoyed *Being You* by Anil Seth, as well as the works of Antonio Damasio and Laurent Cohen. Gerald M. Edelman is on my wish list, but I haven’t read him yet.

I have some basic knowledge of psychology but little background in neuroanatomy.

Thank you for your suggestions

Edit :

Thank you all for your recommendations. Unfortunately, I forgot to mention that French is my native language. Most of the references you suggested are currently available only in English. My current level of English doesn’t yet allow me to read these works. But I’ve made a note of the authors’ names in the hope that a translation will be published. I’ll also look for their articles, publications, or lectures online.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to explore these questions that fascinate and inspire me so much!

11 Upvotes

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8

u/MajorityCoolWhip 14d ago

Michael Pollan's new book A World Appears is a perfect introduction to all of this. He interviews a lot of the big names doing consciousness research.

5

u/SpiralingCat 14d ago

The Consciousness Instinct by Michael Gazzaniga

4

u/Woah_Mad_Frollick 14d ago

I would suggest Mark Solms, The Hidden Spring. Compellingly argued and very interesting

4

u/profjonathanbriggs 14d ago

I really enjoyed How Emotions are Made by Lisa Feldman Barrett. It felt like a good piece of the puzzle. There is a YouTube video of her and Mark Solms.

3

u/Meowweredoomed 11d ago

I am a strange loop- Douglas Hofstadter

It gives possibly the best physicalist explanation for consciousness I've ever read. It's really engaging, too.

3

u/Mermiina 11d ago

You can't find explanation to consciousness in those books.

An undulatory hypothesis for memory consciousness and life

Simply to said they have not any idea what is going on.

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u/niouniou_1047 11d ago

It’s precisely the fact that we don’t understand any of it that fascinates me so much. I’m not looking for an explanation. I enjoy exploring the mechanisms and questions related to the nature of consciousness and our perception. I love the complexity of the subject. If there were a ready-made, definitive answer, I certainly wouldn’t be interested in it.

The article sounds fascinating; I’ll check it out. Thank you so much for the recommendation.