For Mark Solms, one of the boldest thinkers in contemporary neuroscience, discovering how consciousness comes about has been a lifetime's quest. He has now arrived at an astonishing answer. While sticking closely to the medical facts, Solms proves to be a frank and fearless guide on an extraordinary voyage from the dawn of psychoanalysis to the cutting edge of contemporary neuroscience.
He introduces you to neurological patients whose uncanny conversations reveal much about the brain's obscure reaches. Venturing into the elementary physics of life, he finds surprising confirmation of some of Sigmund Freud's most provocative insights. Most importantly, you will be able to recognize the workings of your own mind for what they really are, including every stray thought, pulse of emotion, and shift of attention. More than a philosophical argument, the Free Energy theory will profoundly alter your understanding of your own subjective experience.
For Mark Solms, one of the boldest thinkers in contemporary neuroscience, discovering how consciousness comes about has been a lifetime's quest. He has now arrived at an astonishing answer. While sticking closely to the medical facts, Solms proves to be a frank and fearless guide on an extraordinary voyage from the dawn of psychoanalysis to the cutting edge of contemporary neuroscience.
He introduces you to neurological patients whose uncanny conversations reveal much about the brain's obscure reaches. Venturing into the elementary physics of life, he finds surprising confirmation of some of Sigmund Freud's most provocative insights. Most importantly, you will be able to recognize the workings of your own mind for what they really are, including every stray thought, pulse of emotion, and shift of attention. More than a philosophical argument, the Free Energy theory will profoundly alter your understanding of your own subjective experience.
Mark Solms discovered the forebrain mechanisms of dreaming. He is director of neuropsychology of the Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, where he lives. He is also honorary lecturer in neurosurgery at the Royal London Hospital School and honorary Fellow at the American College of Psychiatrists.
"[R]emarkably clear, accommodating and exciting to read…The Hidden
Spring provides a necessary reminder that rational thinking isn't
all it seems to be."
*Jess Keiser, Washington Post*
"One of the worthiest efforts to come out of neuroscience in recent
memory."
*Jason Kehe, WIRED*
"Nobody bewitched by these mysteries [of consciousness] can afford
to ignore the solution proposed by Mark Solms…Fascinating,
wide-ranging and heartfelt."
*Oliver Burkeman, Guardian*
"Intriguing…There is plenty to provoke and fascinate along the
way."
*Anil Seth, Times Higher Education*
"This is truly a remarkable book. It changes everything."
*Brian Eno*
"A remarkably bold fusion of ideas from psychoanalysis, psychology,
and the frontiers of theoretical neuroscience that takes aim at the
biggest question there is. Solms will challenge your most basic
beliefs."
*Matthew Cobb, author of The Idea of the Brain: The Past and Future
of Neuroscience*
"Solms’s efforts…have been truly pioneering. This unification is
clearly the direction for the future."
*Eric Kandel, Nobel laureate for Physiology and Medicine*
"This treatment of consciousness and artificial sentience should be
taken very seriously."
*Karl Friston, scientific director, Wellcome Trust Centre for
Neuroimaging*
"Solms’s vital work has never ignored the lived, felt experience of
human beings. His ideas look a lot like the future to me."
*Siri Hustvedt, author of The Blazing World*
"To say this work is encyclopedic is to diminish its poetic,
psychological and theoretical achievement. This is required
reading."
*Susie Orbach, author of In Therapy*
"At last the emperor has found some clothes! For decades,
consciousness has been perceived as an epiphenomenon, little more
than an illusion that can't really make things happen. Solms takes
a thrilling new approach to the problem, grounded in modern
neurobiology but finding meaning in older ideas going back to
Freud. This is an exciting book."
*Nick Lane, author of The Vital Question*
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