Although science has made considerable progress in discovering the neural basis of cognition, how consciousness arises remains elusive. In this book, Pennartz analyzes which aspects of conscious experience can be peeled away to access its core: the relationship between brain processes and the qualitative nature of consciousness. Pennartz traces the problem back to its historical foundations and connects early ideas to contemporary computational neuroscience. What can we learn from neural network models, and where do they fall short in bridging the gap between neurons and conscious experiences? ... More

Although science has made considerable progress in discovering the neural basis of cognition, how consciousness arises remains elusive. In this book, Pennartz analyzes which aspects of conscious experience can be peeled away to access its core: the relationship between brain processes and the qualitative nature of consciousness. Pennartz traces the problem back to its historical foundations and connects early ideas to contemporary computational neuroscience. What can we learn from neural network models, and where do they fall short in bridging the gap between neurons and conscious experiences? How can neural models of cognition help us define requirements for conscious processing in the brain? These questions underlie Pennartz’s examination of the brain’s anatomy and neurophysiology. This analysis is not limited to visual perception but broadened to include other sensory modalities and their integration. Formulating a representational theory, Pennartz outlines properties that complex neural structures must express to process information consciously. This theoretical framework is constructed using empirical findings from neuroscience and from theoretical arguments such as the ‘Cuneiform Room’ and the ‘Wall Street Banker’. Positing that qualitative experience is a multimodal and multilevel phenomenon at its roots, Pennartz places this body of theory in the wider context of mind-brain philosophy.