CONTENTS
Preface
Prologue
1 The Dream of Galileo
Part I: EVIDENCE: Experiments of Nature
2 Introduction
Displacements
3 Cerebrum
In which is shown that the corticothalamic system generates
consciousness
4 Cerebellum
In which is shown that the cerebellum, while having more neurons
than the cerebrum, does not generate consciousness
5 Two Blind Painters
In which is shown that sensory inputs and pathways are not
necessary for consciousness
6 A Brain Locked In
In which is shown that motor outputs and pathways are not necessary
for consciousness, nor are they sufficient
7 Empress Without Memory
In which is shown that many brain circuits that help us see, hear,
remember, speak, and act are not necessary for consciousness
8 A Brain Split
In which is shown that consciousness is divided if the brain is
split
9 A Brain Conflicted
In which is said that consciousness can split if different regions
of the brain refuse to talk to each other
10 A Brain Possessed
In which is shown that when cortical neurons fire strongly and
synchronously, as during certain seizures, consciousness fades
11 A Brain Asleep
In which is shown that when cortical neurons can be on and off only
together, as during dreamless sleep, consciousness fades
Part II: THEORY: Experiments of Thought
12 Introduction
The Enigma of Consciousness
13 Galileo and the Photodiode
In which is shown that the humble photodiode can tell light from
dark as well as Galileo
14 Information: The Manifold Repertoire
In which is shown that the repertoire of possible experiences is as
large as one can imagine
15 Galileo and the Camera
In which is shown that the sensor of a digital camera has a large
repertoire of possible states, perhaps larger than Galileo’s
16 Integrated Information: The Many and the One
In which is shown that consciousness lives where information is
integrated by a single entity above and beyond its parts
17 Galileo and the Bat
In which is feared that the quality of experience cannot be derived
from matter
18 Seeing Dark (Deconstructing Darkness)
In which is said that darkness does not exist in a void but
requires a context
19 The Meaning of Dark (Constructing Darkness)
In which is shown that darkness is built of many nested mechanisms
that specify what it is not
20 The Palace of Light
In which is shown that an experience is a shape made of integrated
information
21 The Garden of Qualia
In which is said that the universe is mostly dark, but the largest
stars are closer than one thinks, if they are looked at with the
proper instrument
Part III: IMPLICATIONS: A Universe of Consciousness
22 Introduction
Sparks and Flames
23 Nightfall I: Death
In which is said that, if consciousness is integrated information,
it dissolves with death
24 Nightfall II: Dementia
In which is said that consciousness disintegrates with dementia
25 Nightfall III: Dolor
In which is said that, if the quality of consciousness is a shape
made of integrated information, it can be turned into the only real
and eternal Hell
26 Twilight I: Consciousness Diminished
In which is said that consciousness can be present in the absence
of language and reflection
27 Twilight II: Consciousness Evolving
In which is said that animals are conscious, too
28 Twilight III: Consciousness Developing
In which is said that consciousness must be present, to some
degree, even before birth
29 Daylight I: Consciousness Exploring
In which is said that, by investigating nature, new qualia are
discovered
30 Daylight II: Consciousness Imagining
In which is said that art and imagination invent new shapes within
the mind
31 Daylight III: Consciousness Growing
In which is said that, by growing consciousness, the universe comes
more into being, the synthesis of one and many
32 Epilogue
Three Late Dreams
33 Afterthoughts
Study Questions
Acknowledgments
Illustration Credits
Giulio Tononi is a professor of psychiatry, the David P. White Professor of Sleep Medicine, and the Distinguished Chair in Consciousness Science at the University of Wisconsin. In addition to the major scientific journals, his work has appeared in New Scientist, Science Daily, and Scientific American. His research has been the subject of articles in The New York Times and The Economist. He is the coauthor, with Nobel laureate Gerald Edelman, of A Universe of Consciousness.
“Both playful and philosophical, this extravagant book addresses
questions about the root of consciousness in a unique way...The
book is a visual delight as well as an impressive read, its lavish
artwork and literary references demonstrating just how fully
complementary art and science can be.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Giulio Tononi is a man of bold and original mind who has developed
a fundamental new theory of consciousness. In Phi, he calls on all
the resources of drama, metaphor, and the visual arts to present
his scientific insights, in the form of imaginary dialogues in
which Galileo meets Francis Crick, Alan Turing, and other major
thinkers of the twentieth century. This is an astonishing (and
risky) literary device, but Tononi pulls it off triumphantly. He
makes the deepest neuroscientific insights come alive.”
—Oliver Sacks, author of Musicophilia
“You may or may not endorse Giulio Tononi’s views on how the brain
generates consciousness, but you can certainly agree that his book
is a garden of intellectual delights.”
—Antonio Damasio, author of Self Comes to Mind and Descartes’
Error
“This wonderful book reads like a popcorn novel but informs like a
primer on consciousness and where it comes from. By turns exciting,
challenging, and thought provoking, Giulio Tononi’s marvelous
imagination explores the origin of thought, sensation, and feeling.
Learning about the difference between the cerebrum and the
cerebellum doesn’t sound like fun, but here you encounter them
amidst fat friars shouting in vulgar Latin, nymphs of radiant
beauty, and a mysterious juggler on a unicycle. I’ve always taken
pride in being a conscious, sentient being; after reading Phi, I’m
beginning to understand what it means when I say that!”
—Leonard Mlodinow, author of Subliminal
“An original, provocative tale of a scientist’s quest to understand
how the brain generates consciousness…A challenging, rewarding read
that will undoubtedly alter your consciousness.”
–Kirkus
“Charming.” –CultureLab
“Tononi has pushed the study of consciousness forward…the book is
lavishly illustrated with paintings and scientific images,
poetically written, and unashamedly speculative, weighing some of
the ‘meaning of life’ questions Tononi has been thinking about
during his long career as a consciousness researcher. It’s a
fascinating celebration of the complexity of the brain and mind.”
–Boston Globe
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