Consciousness: A User's GuideWaiting for Godot has been acclaimed as the greatest play of the 20th century. It is also the most elusive: two lifelong friends sing, dance, laugh, weep, and question their fate on a road that descends from and goes nowhere. Throughout, they repeat their intention Let's go, but this is inevitably followed by the direction (They do not move.). This is Beckett's poetic construct of the human condition. Lois Gordon, author of The World of Samuel Beckett, has written this introduction to Beckett's great work for general readers, students and specialists. Critically and historically informed, it approaches the play scene by scene, exploring the text linguistically, philosophically, critically and biographically. Gordon argues that the play portrays more than the rational mind's search for self and worldly definition. It also dramatises Beckett's insights into human nature, into the emotional life that frequently invades rationality and liberates, victimises, or paralyzes the individual. Gordon shows that Beckett portrays humanity in conflict with mysterious forces both within and outside the self, and that he is an artist of the psychic distress born of relativism. |
Contents
| 1 | |
| 11 | |
The Capacity for Consciousness | 75 |
The Contents of Consciousness | 153 |
The Origins of Consciousness | 241 |
Consciousness Considered | 277 |
Epilogue | 343 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
ability acetylcholine action activity agnosia anaesthesia anaesthetics animals attention auditory awareness axons basal ganglia behaviour biological blind blindsight body brainstem cells cerebellum cerebral cortex Chapter chemical chimp Cognitive colour coma complex consciousness correlates cortical damage described disorder electrical encountered epilepsy evidence evolution example explain Figure frontal lobes function give rise hemispheres Homo Homo erectus human brain idea light limbic system London look memory mental million years ago mind molecules monkeys motor movement muscle nerve nervous system neural neurology neurons neuroscience neurotransmitter nucleus occur Oxford parietal lobe patients perception philosophical physical primate problem prosopagnosia protein question receptors recognise regions REM sleep response reticular retina rhythm sciousness seizures self-consciousness sensation sense sensory sight signals species spinal cord suggests synapse temporal lobe thalamus theories thought tion University Press vision visual areas visual cortex visual experience visual system waking