Out of Mind: Varieties of Unconscious Processes

Can we learn without consciousness? When the eminent neuropsychologist Lawrence Weiskrantz first coined the term 'blindsight' to describe a condition whereby a patient could demonstrate that they were aware of some object, yet insist that they were completely unaware of its existence, the response from some in the scientific community was extremely skeptical. Even now, there are those who question the existence of unconscious (implicit) learning, and the topic remains one of the most actively researched and debated in psychology. In recent years evidence for unconscious processing across a range of sensory modalities have come from studies of vision, audition, memory, emotion, and action. Never before have these studies of unconscious processing in the different senses been brought together into a single volume. In a book dedicated to Lawrence Weiskrantz, some of the leading psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists of the day explain what we know about unconscious processing in the different senses. Including contributions from David Milner, Jon Driver, Alan Cowey, and Ray Dolan, the book presents a state-of-the-art account of what we now know about the unconscious. The book will provide a fascinating account for students and researchers in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and philosophy.

Bea De Gelder is in the Department of Psychology, Tilburg University. Edward De Haan is in the Department of Psychology, Utrecht University.