RaveThe Washington PostBetween the introduction and conclusion of the book, you won’t find an account of the science of instincts, a detailing of how they might interact or a model of how that interaction might bring about consciousness. Instead, you’ll find an eloquent history of the scientific study of consciousness. Gazzaniga traces the field from its philosophical roots in the 17th century through the age of early empirical thinking, modern neuroscience and neurological case studies, and even into the realm of quantum physics. After each historical narrative, he discusses the way each field has broadly influenced the way he thinks about mind and brain. What’s profound about Gazzaniga’s The Consciousness Instinct parallels what made Crick’s Astonishing Hypothesis so special: It is a window into the mind of one of the greats. It is a rare opportunity to watch a scientific champion grapple with perhaps our most formidable mystery, juggling multiple fields of study, laying out his thinking, though raw and incomplete, so others may continue the work. For the rest of us in the neurosciences, struggling merely to balance on the shoulders of giants, we can only be grateful when one of those giants nudges us forward, to continue soul-searching, by taking a bit of time to gossip with us.
