The phenomenon of "consciousness" is intrinsically related to one's awareness of self, time and the physical world. What, then, can be learned about consciousness from those who, as a result of brain damage, suffer from conditions which affect their awareness? The author explores this question.
It has been discovered that many brain damaged individuals retain intact capacities in what is known as "covert" processing. A blind patient, then, may actually be able to "see" while an amnesiac patient can learn and retain information that he or she does not realize is memory. Weiskrantz uses his research into this phenomenon as a springboard toward a philosophical argument which, combined with the latest brain imaging studies, points the way to specific brain structures which may be involved in concious awareness.
His meticulous documentation of neuropsychological experiment gives the book a reassuring infrastructure.
