"One of the most important and influential theories of consciousness. A MUST READ for anyone interested in the scientific treatment of consciousness." David Rosenthal, CUNY "The works of Bernard Baars collected here are among the foundational texts of the scientific study of consciousness. Their influence in cognitive science and philosophy of mind is enormous, and their impact on my own thinking has been profound." Murray Shanahan, DeepMind Bernard Baars' Global Workspace Theory (GWT) is a theory of human cognitive architecture, the cortex, and consciousness. GWT is a widely used framework for the role of conscious and unconscious events in the functioning of the brain. Global Workspace Dynamics (GWD) is the most current version of GWT - attempting to account for complexities of the living brain. These updated works, from the recipient of INNS 2019 Hermann von Helmholtz Life Contribution Award for paradigm changing, long lasting influence and impact in perception: form a coherent effort to organize a large and growing body of scientific evidence about conscious brains, - and trace the beginnings of GWT/GWD through the continued rise of brain evidence and psychological understanding. Throughout human history, people have perceived the conscious brain as the great nexus of human life, of social relationships, of their personal identities and histories, in encounters with new challenges. Consciousness under its many labels and manifestations is widely seen to be one of the core mysteries of life. Making progress in understanding consciousness has a vast number of implications - philosophical, metaphysical, scientific, clinical, and practical. Many therapeutic approaches can be viewed in a Global Workspace framework, including: traditional psychodynamics - depth psychology - cognitive behavioral techniques - many other carefully studied human functions "BRILLIANT!" Deepak Chopra, MD " This magnum opus is incredible and belongs on the bookshelf of anyone seriously interested in wrestling with paradoxes and mysteries of human consciousness." Scott Barry Kaufman, Cognitive Scientist "A magnificent achievement!" Pat Churchland, UCSD "Baars is a giant on whose shoulders the future science of consciousness will stand." Antti Revonsuo, Cognitive Neuroscientist PRAISE for ON CONSCIOUSNESS "The works of Bernard Baars collected here are among the foundational texts of the scientific study of consciousness. Their influence in cognitive science and philosophy of mind is enormous, and their impact on my own thinking has been profound." -Murray Shanahan, Prof of Cognitive Robotics, Dept of Computing, ICL "Bernie Baars is a giant on whose shoulders the future science of consciousness will stand." - Antti Revonsuo, PhD, Prof of Cognitive Neuroscience, Univ of Skövde, Sweden "Quite simply, Bernard Baars has made the most important single contribution to consciousness studies since William James." -Bruce Mangan, PhD, UC Berkeley " This magnum opus is incredible and belongs on the bookshelf of anyone seriously interested in wrestling with paradoxes and mysteries of human consciousness." -Scott Barry Kaufman, Cognitive Scientist "A magnificent achievement!" -Pat Churchland, UCSD "Baars explains his influential theory in exquisite detail in this new volume, with many updates of his main writings. A bird's eye view of the brain with many exciting insights of its complex workings. An enjoyable read by an expert authority." -György Buzsáki, author, "The Brain From Inside Out" "Consciousness will not become acceptable to science without 3 things: empirical evidence that overcomes the consciousness deniers, a satisfying account of subjectivity, and a global understanding of the mind's staggering complexity. Baars is perhaps our most important voice... and On Consciousness raises a high bar for all future exploration in the field." -Deepak Chopra, MD "A clear-eyed, open-minded analysis of the problems of consciousness, and a wide-ranging synthesis of a variety of approaches. For those who want to join the race to model consciousness, this is the starting line." -Dan Dennett, author, "From Bacteria to Bach and Back" " On Consciousness is an indispensable addition to the library of both students and experts who study consciousness." -George A. Mashour, MD, PhD, Director, Center for Consciousness Science "...Baars' compilation will be suitably challenging for those who've previously enjoyed such popular-science books as Luke Dittrich's 2016 work Patient H.M . The author is humorously engaging while drawing readers into his complex studies, as when he notes that "consciousness science still resembles sex in the Victorian age: We know it's there, but we tend to evade it." Within the text, he poses simple experiments for readers to try, such as attempting to "stop your inner speech for ten seconds." Baars also presents evidence for consciousness in a