A History of the Mind: Evolution and the Birth of Consciousness

This book is a tour-de-force on how human consciousness may have evolved. From the "phantom pain" experienced by people who have lost their limbs to the uncanny faculty of "blindsight," Humphrey argues that raw sensations are central to all conscious states and that consciousness must have evolved, just like all other mental faculties, over time from our ancestors'bodily responses to pain and pleasure.
"Humphrey is one of that growing band of scientists who beat literary folk at their own game"-RICHARD DAWKINS
"A wonderful bookbrilliant, unsettling, and beautifully written. Humphrey cuts bravely through the currents of contemporary thinking, opening up new vistas on old problems offering a feast of provocative ideas." -DANIEL DENNETT

• Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life
• Perilous Interventions: The Security Council and the Politics of Chaos
• Social Cognition: Making Sense of People
• Soul Dust: The Magic of Consciousness
• Birth of a Theorem: A Mathematical Adventure