by Christof Koch
The MIT Press, April 2012
In his latest book, Caltech neuroscientist Christof Koch sets out to conquer biology’s white whale—consciousness. Part memoir and part history-of-science lesson, Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist pays homage to the early pioneers of the study of consciousness—Francis Crick, with whom Koch collaborated for almost 20 years, and David Chalmers, among others—while detailing the important discoveries and technological advances making the field ever more relevant.
Koch signposts the journey using experiences, both mundane and transformative, from his life spent struggling to understand the monumental questions underpinning the study of consciousness. From toothaches to loss of faith in God, the author’s past, as he searchingly explores it, dovetails nicely with a firsthand tour of the field and its ...
