Scientific knowledge grows at a phenomenal pace--but few books have had as lasting an impact or played as important a role in our modern world as The Mathematical Theory of Communication, published originally as a paper on communication theory more than fifty years ago. Republished in book form shortly thereafter, it has since gone through four hardcover and sixteen paperback printings. It is a revolutionary work, astounding in its foresight and contemporaneity. The University of Illinois Press is pleased and honored (...) to issue this commemorative reprinting of a classic. (shrink)

Beyond the Brain seriously challenges the existing neurophysiological models of the brain. After three decades of extensive research on those non-ordinary states of consciousness induced by psychedelic drugs and by other means, Grof concludes that our present scientific world view is as inadequate as many of its historical predecessors. In this pioneering work, he proposes a new model of the human psyche that takes account of his findings. Grof includes in his model the recollective level, or the reliving of emotionally (...) relevant memories, a level at which the Freudian framework can be useful. Beyond that is perinatal level in which the human unconscious may be activated to a reliving of biological birth and confrontation with death. How birth experience influences an individual's later development is a central focus of the book. The most serious challenge to contemporary psycho-analytic theory comes from a delineation of the transpersonal level, or the expansion of consciousness beyond the boundaries of time and space. Grof makes a bold argument that understanding of the perinatal and transpersonal levels changes much of how we view both mental illness and mental health. His reinterpretation of some of the most agonizing aspects of human behavior proves thought provoking for both laypersons and professional therapists. (shrink)

A re-issue of Gregory Bateson's classic work. It summarizes Bateson's thinking on the subject of the patterns that connect living beings to each other and to their environment.

Tom Stonier writes from the perspective of a theoretical biologist looking at the evolution of information systems as a basis for studying the phenomena of information, intelligence and meaning. Through his exploration of the 'meaning of meaning', and by looking at how neurons create a brain which understands information inputs and then operates on the information received, he is able to propose a theory of how the brain works and to explore how this theory may be used in the development (...) of information science. (shrink)

La vie n'a pas fini de nous surprendre. Réduite à des interactions moléculaires mais étendue à des lois d'organisation inattendues, elle est aujourd'hui observée dans des systèmes vivants dont la logique interpelle et renouvelle la pensée rationnelle. Qu'est-ce que l'organisé? L'auto-organisé? Pourquoi et comment percevons-nous des ordres dans la nature, d'où viennent les significations que nous leur attribuons? Notre psychisme, nos sociétés, objets de sciences au statut toujours aussi mal assuré, nous font penser l'organisation comme une création ininterrompue de nouveau, (...) de sens, de vivant, entre et à partir de deux formes de morts, entre le cristal et la fumée. Les sciences de la nature, l'expérience de l'identité et de la pensée juives, la réflexion éthique forment le contexte de ces méditations sur un vivant qui déborde la biologie. (shrink)

First published in 1987. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

In the The Undivided Universe, David Bohn and Basil Hiley present a radically different approach to quantum theory.

At Home in the Universe presents and extends the intellectual core ofKauffman's earlier book The Origins of Order (OUP 1993) for any intelligentgeneral reader can understand and appreciate. The reader is very effectivelyinvited into Kauffman's vision and thought processes, in one of the moreexhilarating and important books of popular science.

This book comprises all of John Bell's published and unpublished papers in the field of quantum mechanics, including two papers that appeared after the first edition was published. It also contains a preface written for the first edition, and an introduction by Alain Aspect that puts into context Bell's great contribution to the quantum philosophy debate. One of the leading expositors and interpreters of modern quantum theory, John Bell played a major role in the development of our current understanding of (...) the profound nature of quantum concepts. First edition Hb (1987): 0-521-33495-0 First edition Pb (1988): 0-521-36869-3. (shrink)

In this classic work David Bohm, writing clearly and without technical jargon, develops a theory of quantum physics which treats the totality of existence as an unbroken whole.

I Physics of Information Information, Physics, Quantum: The Search for Links John Archibald Wheeler Information from Quantum Measurements Benjamin Schumacher Local Accessibility of Quantum States William K. Wootters The Entropy of Black Holes V. F. Mukhanov Some Simple Consequences of the Loss of Information in a Spacetime with a Horizon Shin Takagi Why is the Physical World so Comprehensible? P. C. W. Davies II Laws of Physics and Laws of Computation Algorithmic Information Content, Church-Turing Thesis, Physical Entropy, and Maxwell’s Demon (...) W. E. Zurek Entropy and Information: How Much Information is Needed to Assign a Probability? Carlton M. Caves Complexity of Models J. Rissanen Laws and Boundary Conditions C. H. Woo How to Define Complexity in Physics, and Why Charles H. Bennett III Complexity and Evolution Requirements for Evolvability in Complex Systems: Orderly Dynamics and Frozen Components Stuart A. Kauffman Valuable Information Seth Lloyd Non-Equilibrium Polymers, Entropy, and Algorithmic Information Dilip K. Kondepudi The Dynamics of Complex Computational Systems Tad Hogg Computation at the Onset of Chaos James P. Crutchfield and Karl Young IV Physics of Computation Parallel Quantum Computation Norman Margolus Information Processing at the Molecular Level: Possible Realizations and Physical Constraints W. G. Teich and G. Mahler How Cheap Can Mechanics’ First Principles Be? Tommaso Toffoli Intermittent Fluctuations and Complexity Xiao-Jing Wang Information Processing in Visual Perception A. Zee V Probability, Entropy, and Quantum Thermodynamic Constraints on Quantum Axioms Asker Peres Entropy and Quantum Mechanics M. Hossein Páriovi Einstein Completion of Quantum Mechanics Made Falsifiable O. E. Rossler Quantum Mechanics and Algorithmic Complexity J. W. Barrett Probability in Quantum Theory E. T. Jaynes Quantum Measurements and Entropy H. D. Zeh VI Quantum Theory and Measurement Quantum Mechanics in the Light of Quantum Cosmology Murray Gell-Mann and James B. Hartle Information Dissipation in Quantum Cosmology and the Emergence of Classical Spacetime Jonathan J. Halliwell The Quantum Mechanics of Self-Measurement David Z. Albert The Quantum-Classical Correspondence in Light of Classi- cal Bell’s and Quantum Tsirelson’s Inequalities X. A. Khalfin Some Progress in Measurement Theory: The Logical Inter- pretation of Quantum Mechanics Roland Omnes. (shrink)

The book is an extended study of the problem of consciousness. After setting up the problem, I argue that reductive explanation of consciousness is impossible , and that if one takes consciousness seriously, one has to go beyond a strict materialist framework. In the second half of the book, I move toward a positive theory of consciousness with fundamental laws linking the physical and the experiential in a systematic way. Finally, I use the ideas and arguments developed earlier to defend (...) a form of strong artificial intelligence and to analyze some problems in the foundations of quantum mechanics. (shrink)

The book is aimed at general readers with an interest in the mind and neuroscience, as well as a wide range of scientists whose work is related to the rapidly...

The world's foremost systems philosopher presents a new scientific theory to explain how the universe defies our current understanding of fundamental physical laws.

The book, with its emphasis on the interaction of microstructures with the entire biosphere, ecosystems etc., and on how micro- and macrocosmos mutually create the conditions for their further evolution, provides a comprehensive framework for a deeper understanding of human creativity in a time of transition.

Discusses how the conscious self is created by the brain, explains brain structure, and explores the mind-body connection.

Toward a Science of Consciousnessmarks the first major gathering -- a landmark event -- devoted entirely to unlocking the mysteries of consciousness.

To make progress on the problem of consciousness, we have to confront it directly. In this paper, I first isolate the truly hard part of the problem, separating it from more tractable parts and giving an account of why it is so difficult to explain. I critique some recent work that uses reductive methods to address consciousness, and argue that such methods inevitably fail to come to grips with the hardest part of the problem. Once this failure is recognized, the (...) door to further progress is opened. In the second half of the paper, I argue that if we move to a new kind of nonreductive explanation, a naturalistic account of consciousness can be given. I put forward my own candidate for such an account: a nonreductive theory based on principles of structural coherence and organizational invariance, and a double-aspect theory of information. (shrink)

The generation problem is to explain how material configurations or processes can produce conscious experience. David Chalmers urges that this is what makes the problem of consciousness really difficult. He proposes to side-step the generation problem by proposing that consciousness is an absolutely fundamental feature of the world. I am inclined to agree that the generation problem is real and believe that taking consciousness to be fundamental is promising. But I take issue with Chalmers about what it is to be (...) a fundamental feature of the world. In fact, I argue that taking the idea seriously ought to lead to some form of panpsychism. Powerful objections have been advanced against panpsychism, but I attempt to outline a form of the doctrine which can evade them. In the end, I suspect that we will face a choice between panpsychism and rethinking the legitimacy of the generation problem itself. (shrink)

Conscious experience is at once the most familiar thing in the world and the most mysterious. There is nothing we know about more directly than consciousness, but it is extraordinarily hard to reconcile it with everything else we know. Why does it exist? What does it do? How could it possibly arise from neural processes in the brain? These questions are among the most intriguing in all of science.

A broad consensus has developed in recent years in the cognitive and neurosciences that the cognitive functions of the mind arise out of the activities of an extensive and diverse array of specialized processors operating as a parallel, distributed system. A theoretical perspective is presented which expands upon this "society" model to include globally integrative infuences upon this arrary of processors. This perspective serves as the basis for an explicit neural model of a "global workspace within a system of distributed (...) specialized processors". Anatomical and physiological evidence are reviewed which suggest that this parallel, modular architecture is superceded by a more diffuse, tangential intracortical network capable of integrating underlying modular activites into increasingly global cognitive representations. There follows an explication of the role of this "neural global workspace" in providing the essential basis for the central control of attention and the generation of unified, conscious percepts. Finally the role of thalamic and brainstem activation systems in these integrative processes is discussed. (shrink)

An extensive data search among various types of developmental and evolutionary sequences yielded a ‘four quadrant’ model of consciousness and its development . Each of these dimensions was found to unfold in a sequence of at least a dozen major stages or levels. Combining the four quadrants with the dozen or so major levels in each quadrant yields an integral theory of consciousness that is quite comprehensive in its nature and scope. This model is used to indicate how a general (...) synthesis and integration of twelve of the most influential schools of consciousness studies can be effected, and to highlight some of the most significant areas of future research. The conclusion is that an ‘all-quadrant, all-level’ approach is the minimum degree of sophistication that we need into order to secure anything resembling a genuinely integral theory of consciousness. (shrink)

The paper begins with a general introduction to the nature of human consciousness and outlines several different philosophical approaches. A critique of traditional reductionist and dualist positions is offered and it is suggested that consciousness should be viewed as an emergent property of physical systems. However, although consciousness has its origin in distributed brain processes it has macroscopic properties - most notably the `unitary sense of self', non-deterministic free will, and non-algorithmic `intuitive' processing - which can best be described by (...) quantum-mechanical principles. (shrink)

The dominance in normal awareness of visual percepts, which are linked to space, obscures the fact that most thoughts are non-spatial. It is argued that the mind is intrinsically non-spatial, though in perception can become compresent with spatial things derived from outside the mind. The assumption that the brain is entirely spatial is also challenged, on the grounds that there is a perfectly good place for the non-spatial in physics. A quantum logic approach to physics, which takes non-locality as its (...) starting point, offers a non-reductive way of reconciling the experience of mind with the world description of physics. For further progress it is necessary to place mind first as the key aspect of the universe. (shrink)

Part I of this two-part paper provided a broad overview of clinical and experimental findings bearing on the neural correlates of conscious processes. It was argued that several neurocognitive models related to: orienting to the outer world, dream sleep, and the integration of sensory-motor representations, converge upon a core ‘conscious system’, dubbed the extended reticular-thalamic activating system . The functions of the ERTAS, which shares extensive projections with the cerebral cortex, are mostly ‘implicit’, in contrast to the explicit representation of (...) conscious content within the neocortex. Part II expands this ERTAS model to encompass: the generation of coherent patterns of EEG activation, the integration of distributed cortical processes into a stream of unified percepts , and selective attention, as well as links between the ERTAS and systems providing the neural substrates for episodic memory and volition. (shrink)