The link between brain learning, attention, and consciousness

Stephen Grossberg

pp. 3-45

in: Causality, meaningful complexity and embodied cognition, Berlin, Springer, 2010

Abstract

We experience the world as a whole. Although myriad signals relentlessly bombard our senses, we somehow integrate them into unified moments of conscious experience that cohere together despite their diversity. Because of the apparent unity and coherence of our awareness, we can develop a sense of self that can gradually mature with our experiences of the world. This capacity lies at the heart of our ability to function as intelligent beings.