A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness

Journalist Pollan (This Is Your Mind on Plants) delivers an enlightening exploration of what is and isn’t known about consciousness. Noting that scientists have yet to arrive at a sturdy explanation of why “a world appears when you open your eyes,” Pollan takes readers through leading theories, shedding light on sentience, feeling, thought, and selfness. He questions whether a brain is a prerequisite for consciousness and describes how a growing cadre of plant neurobiologists have found plants to be “highly intelligent beings, able to read their environment and solve novel problems.” He probes the role of emotions in consciousness and interviews neurologist Antonio Damasio, who makes the case that “feelings are the body’s way of getting the mind’s attention in order to keep us alive.” Turning to the contents of consciousness—thoughts—he cites studies that suggest thinking looks different for everyone; people can have an inner monologue or picture visual images, while a few “live in a world of pure perception” with few traces of an inner experience at all. Elsewhere, he explores how the brain stitches memories together to form a sense of self and how chemicals from caffeine to LSD alter that experience. Pollan’s inquisitiveness makes him an accessible and entertaining guide through the “labyrinth” of consciousness. Readers will be captivated by this tour of the inner workings of the mind. (Feb.)