Attunement: How Life Creates Consciousness

Life is the root of consciousness—a radical explanatory viewWhat is consciousness?Is it physical?How is it possible for dumb physical matter to be conscious and have awareness, inner experience, and subjectivity?Is a scientific explanation of consciousness even possible?These are questions that this book answers, and you can find additional free resources at ActiveSensitivity.com.Our human consciousness is at the heart of human nature. A scientific explanation of consciousness is important—not only as a solution to one of the great scientific challenges of our time or because it solves the ancient mind/body problem—but because how we understand our own nature has cultural, societal, philosophical, and even religious implications.Dr. Hidley, a lifetime member of the Association for the Scientific Study of Consciousness, has studied the professional literature for more than 25 years and observes that it lacks a coherent conceptual framework without which an explanation of consciousness is not possible. He provides that framework.We see our espresso because photons disturb micro-level molecules inside the cells of our eyes, but we consciously sip our coffee at the macro-level. To do so, we use countless sensory cells in our eyes and muscles as well as an extensive system of molecular ratchets in our muscle cells. What connects this massive but unwitnessed micro-level activity and the macro-world of our conscious daily lives?To understand consciousness requires a conceptual path leading step-by-step from matter’s brute, micro-level material properties, like a molecule’s shape, to the mind’s subtle, macroscopic qualities, like a mother’s delight at her baby’s smell.By taking seriously the insight that the roots of consciousness are not in the brain but in life, Dr. Hidley gives us a groundbreaking and transformative scientific explanation of consciousness and provides a much-needed framework for consciousness research. He explains the connection between micro and macro and illuminates the path between the physical and mental.The curious lay reader will find his account accessible, engrossing, and sparkling with new and interesting insights.The professional scientist and philosopher will find his explanation of consciousness compelling and his conceptual framework, indispensable.John H. Hidley, MD is a psychiatrist and independent scholar, researcher, and science writer. Read more