The Self in Neuroscience and Psychiatry

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The Self in Neuroscience and Psychiatry
By Tilo Kircher, Anthony David

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Publisher:  Cambridge University Press
Number Of Pages:  496
Publication Date:  2003-09-22
ISBN-10 / ASIN:  0521533503
ISBN-13 / EAN:  9780521533508
Binding:  Paperback


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Book Description:

An international team focuses on current models of self-consciousness from neurosciences and psychiatry in this collection of essays. These are set against introductory essays describing philosophical, historical and psychological approaches. Neuroscience has recently contributed important insights to the concept and construction of the self from conditions, such as schizophrenia, in which the self becomes disordered and can be studied against healthy controls through experiment, building cognitive models of how the mind works, and imaging brain states.



Download Description:

In recent years the clinical and cognitive sciences and neuroscience have contributed important insights to understanding the self. The neuroscientific study of the self and self-consciousness is in its infancy in terms of established models, available data and even vocabulary. However, there are neuropsychiatric conditions, such as schizophrenia, in which the self becomes disordered and this aspect can be studied against healthy controls through experiment, building cognitive models of how the mind works, and imaging brain states. In this, the first book to address the scientific contribution to an understanding of the self, an eminent, international team focuses on current models of self-consciousness from the neurosciences and psychiatry. These are set against introductory essays describing the philosophical, historical and psychological approaches, making this a uniquely inclusive overview. It will appeal to a wide audience of scientists, clinicians and scholars concerned with the phenomenology and psychopathology of the self.




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Summary: a major contribution and superb achievment!
Rating: 5

Traditionally, consciousness and self-consciousness have been studied by philosophers (from Descartes, Kant, Hegel, Husserl, and Sartre to Ryle, Armstrong, Dennett, and Chalmers). Nevertheless, the recent advance in the neurosciences and cognitive sciences has permitted a scientific progress in the understanding of self and self-consciousness, both in the normal and pathology. \"The Self in Neuroscience and Psychatry,\" edited by Kircher and David, is a clear and outstanding example of such a progress. It is a well-balanced and well-written (although not addressed to the general reader) text which contains contributions and up-to-date papers from some of the leaders in the study of self-consciousness and its disorders (psychiatrists, neuroscientists, philosophers, psychologists, and cognitive scientists). The first of the three parts, contains introductory chapters describing the philosophical, psychiatric, and psychological background to the study of the self. The second part contains contributions from cognitive science and cognitive neuroscience in consciousnes and self-consciousness research. The last and biggest part contains chapters focusing on the psychological, psychiatric and neurobiological study of the pathology of self and self-consciousness, particularly in schizophrenia.

There are many texts which deal with the problem of consciousness and self-consciousness from various philosophical and psychological views, but very few which deal with the problem with clinical, empirical and experimental evidence; that is why I highly recommend \"The Self in Neuroscience and Psychatry\" as a major contribution, and superb achievement, to the scientific study of self and consciousness.