Table of Contents

Prologue: The Metaphor
Part I. Carving Nature at the Joints
1: Treating Consciousness as a Variable
Part II. A Unified Image
2: The Theater Stage Has Limited Capacity
3: Onstage: Sensations, Images, and Ideas
4: The Spotlight: Attention, Absorption, and the Construction of Reality
Part III. Using the Theater
5: Behind the Scenes: the Contexts that Shape Our Experience
6: Volition: Conscious Control of Action
7: The Director: Self as the Unifying Context of Consciousness
Part IV. Concluding Thoughts
8: What Is It Good For? The Functions of Consciousness
9: Epilogue: A Tiny Bit of Philosophy
Appendix: Make Your Own Theory: A Summary of the Evidence
Selected References
Index

About the Author

Bernard J. Baars is at the Wright Institute, in Berkeley, California. He is co-editor of the journal Consciousness and Cognition and author of A Cognitive Theory of Consciousness, of which Daniel C. Dennett wrote, "For those who want to join the race to model consciousness, this is the starting line."

Reviews

"Quite simply, Bernard Baars has made the most important single contribution to consciousness studies since William James."--Bruce Mangan, Institute of Cognitive Studies, University of California, Berkeley
"The most accessible scientific introduction to consciousness studies available. Baars has written a disciplined, systematic book that gives structure to a traditionally amorphous field."--Gordon Globus, University of California, Irvine
"An impressive tour, centered around the question of what we might be able to discover scientifically regarding the role played by conscious experience in the functioning of the mind."--Brian D. Josephson, Nobel Laureate in Physics
"No one has contributed more to the rebirth of consciousness research than Bernard Baars. His latest book explains the gist of Global Workspace theory, and extends it in many new directions--from recent findings in brain research to the subtle world of our phenomenology. Like William James, Baars gets to the heart of an issue quickly and with a minimum of technical fuss. And like James, Baars is not afraid of the big picture. Anyone curious about the study of
consciousness today should look carefully at In the Theater of Consciousness."--Bruce Mangan, Institute of Cognitive Studies, University of California, Berkeley
"The most accessible scientific introduction to consciousness studies available. Baars has written a disciplined, systematic book that gives structure to a traditionally amorphous field."--Gordon Globus, University of California, Irvine
"The cognitive revolution a generation ago restored mind as a legitimate object of study--the brain was no longer to be a behaviorist black box. Today, even more adventuresome, we are again studying consciousness as a researchable empirical phenomenon. Bernard Baars provides us with an exciting account of what we know about consciousness and its functions in thought, rescuing this topic from the speculations of philosophy and placing it solidly in the realm of
empirical study."--Herbert A. Simon, Nobel Laureate, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Psychology and Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
"Baars...conveys a palpable excitement in demonstrating recent strides in understanding 'the publicity organ of the brain." Whether he's quoting and lovingly explicating James and others at length, or discussing and demonstrating the nuances of tip-of-the-tongue syndrome or blindsight, his enthusiasm will motivate anyone who has already long forgotten fresh psych to 'make your own theory,' as the appendix invites us to do."--Publishers Weekly