This book is based on an in-depth filmed conversation between Howard Burton and Martin Monti, Associate Professor in Psychology and Neurosurgery, Brain Injury Research Centre, UCLA. This extensive conversation examines Martin Monti’s innovative work with patients who are in a vegetative state or minimally conscious state which has led to some surprising results that might well prove to be integral to our development of a deeper understanding of consciousness.
This carefully-edited book includes an introduction, The Collective Unconscious, and questions for discussion at the end of each chapter:
Dualism and Science Journalism - Changing hearts and brains
Inside The Other - A constant concern
The Vegetative State - Evolving understanding
Probing Vegetative States - Some experimental details
Beyond Reflex - A thin line
Assessing Consciousness - Unlikely tennis players
Extracting Information - Two types of controls
Quantifying Consciousness- Towards more rigorous models
Interdisciplinary Interlude - Mathematics, cognitive science and other issues
Language and Thought - The Whorfian Hypothesis and Italian football
Structural Similarities? - Comparing language, mathematics and music
What Makes Us Human - In search of distinction
About Ideas Roadshow Conversations Series:
This book is part of an expanding series of 100+ Ideas Roadshow conversations, each one presenting a wealth of candid insights from a leading expert in a focused yet informal setting to give non-specialists a uniquely accessible window into frontline research and scholarship that wouldn't otherwise be encountered through standard lectures and textbooks. For other books in this series visit our website: https://ideas-on-film.com/ideasroadshow/.
