An investigation of the working of the human mind, this book sets out to show that the brain is not only a reactive mechanism, but rather proactive, allowing people to make hypotheses, anticipate consequences, and formulate expectations. The book discusses how the evolution of motor modes of behavior, such as the ability to construct and manipulate instruments, has given rise to an embodied logic underpinning not only action and prediction but also gestures and syllable sequences that are the basis of human communication. This book then looks at how, if consciousness is caused by specific...

For every one of us, consciousness is a primary, immediate, permanent fact--the core of life itself. Why, then, are we so far from forming any definitive picture of what it is, and what it means, for us? Author Mauro Maldonato sets out to establish a fruitful dialogue between different disciplines, investigating consciousness from points of view that shape awareness of ourselves and of the world. An engaging and insightful work, this book looks at how individuals come to make decisions, and the history of philosophical and scientific debate on consciousness.