In "Emergence, Mind, and Consciousness," author Gary A. Lucas does something that many consider impossible: he bridges the gap between a bottom-up description of brain mechanisms and the top-down emergence of mental processes. The result is a comprehensive yet readily understandable explanation of how consciousness emerges.

Lucas, however, strives to do more. He seeks to design an artificial agent with all the essential properties of the human mind- consciousness, declarative memory, a sense of self, reasoning skills, language, and social identity. His account is mechanistic, and yet,...

In "Emergence, Mind, and Consciousness," author Gary A. Lucas does something that many consider impossible: he bridges the gap between a bottom-up description of brain mechanisms and the top-down emergence of mental processes. The result is a comprehensive yet readily understandable explanation of how consciousness emerges.

Lucas, however, strives to do more. He seeks to design an artificial agent with all the essential properties of the human mind- consciousness, declarative memory, a sense of self, reasoning skills, language, and social identity. His account is mechanistic, and yet,...