Cajal and consciousness. Introduction.
One hundred years after Santiago Ramón Cajal established the bases of modern neuroscience in his masterpiece Textura del sistema nervioso del hombre y de los vertebrados, the question is stated again: What is the status of consciousness today? The responses in this book, by contemporary leading figures of neuroscience, evolution, molecular biology, computer science, and quantum physics, collectively compose a fascinating conceptual landscape. Both the evolutionary emergence of consciousness and its development towards the highest level may be analyzed by a wealth of new theories and hypotheses, including Cajal's prescient ones. Some noticeable gaps remain, however. Celebrating the centennial of Textura is a timely occasion to reassess how close--and how far--our system of the sciences is to explaining consciousness.
Marijuán
P C
PC
Departamento de Ingeniería Electrónica y Comunicaciones, CPS, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza 50015, Spain. marijuan@posta.unizar.es
D000818:Animals; D003243:Consciousness / Q000502:physiology*; D006653:Histology / Q000266:history; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009488:Neurosciences / Q000266:history* / Q000639:trends; D013030:Spain