Background
WEISKRANTZ, Lawrence was born on March 28, 1926 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Son of Benjamin Weiskrantz and Rose Weiskrantz (nee Rifkin).
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- Works
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book
Blindsight: A Case Study and Its Implications (Oxford Psychology Series)
(Damage to the neocortex is generally understood to result...)
Damage to the neocortex is generally understood to result in blindness. Studies of some patients who have suffered from this form of blindness have, nevertheless, revealed that they can discriminate certain types of visual events within their "blind" field. However, patients do so without being aware of this ability: they think they are only "guessing". This phenomenon has been termed "blindsight" by Professor Weiskrantz and his collaborators, who were among the first to describe it. It has attracted considerable interest among neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers, who see possible implications for theories of perception and for consciousness. This now classic book, first published in 1986, gives an account of research over the number of years into a particular case blindsight, together with a discussion of the historical and neurological background. A other cases reported by other investigators and a number of theoretical and practical issues and implications are reviewed. All neuroscientists and psychologists with an interest in the phenomena will welcome this reissued version.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0198521928/?tag=2022091-20
Blindsight: A Case Study and Implications (Oxford Psychology Series)
(The author and his collaborators were among the first to ...)
The author and his collaborators were among the first to describe blindsight, the phenomenon in which patients who are blind due to damage to the neocortex can nevertheless discriminate certain types of visual events within their blind fields, even though they believe they are only guessing. This book gives a detailed account of the research conducted over ten years on an individual case of blindsight, together with a discussion of the historical and neurological background of the patient. It also reviews cases reported by other investigators and discusses the theoretical and practical issues and implications of this fascinating occurrence for psychologists, neuroscientists, and philosophers.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0198521294/?tag=2022091-20
Consciousness Lost and Found: A Neuropsychological Exploration
(The phenomenon of "consciousness" is intrinsically relate...)
The phenomenon of "consciousness" is intrinsically related to one's awareness of one's self, of time, and of the physical world. But what if something should happen to impair one's awareness? What do we make of "consciousness" in those people who have suffered brain damage, such as amnesia? This is the intriguing question explored by Lawrence Weiskrantz, a distinguished neuropsychologist who has worked with such patients over 30 years. Contrary to the perception that many have about brain-damaged patients, it has been discovered that many of these individuals retain intact capacities of which they are unaware, in what is known as 'covert' processing. A blind patient, then, may actually be able to "see," without having knowledge of such success, while an amnesiac patient can be shown to learn and retain information that he or she does not realize is memory--nor can be made to realize. In fact, in every major class of defect in which patients lose cognitive ability--from perception, to meaning, to memory, to language--examples of preserved capacities can be found of which the patient is unaware. Weiskrantz starts with his research into this phenomenon, known to neuropsychologists but unfamiliar to many layreaders, and uses it as a springboard toward a philosophical argument which, combined with the latest brain imaging studies, points the way to specific brain structures which may be involved in conscious awareness. Weiskrantz takes his argument further, too, asking whether animals who share much the same brain anatomy as humans share awareness--and how that impacts our assumptions about evolution as well as our moral and ethical decision making. Written in an engaging and accessible style, Consciousness Lost and Found provides a unique perspective on one of the most challenging issues in science today.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0198523017/?tag=2022091-20
Blindsight: a case study spanning 35 years and new developments (Oxford Psychology Series)
(Blindsight is an unusual condition where the sufferer can...)
Blindsight is an unusual condition where the sufferer can respond to visual stimuli, while lacking any conscious feeling of having seen the stimuli. It occurs after a particular form of brain injury. The first edition of Blindsight, by one of the pioneers in the field - Lawrence Weiskrantz, reported studies of a patient with this condition. It was an important, much cited publication. In the past twenty years, further work has been done in this area, and this new edition brings the book up to date. Retaining the original text, but adding a substantial new chapter and colour illustrations, the first section of the book summarizes findings on DB since the last published account in 1986. The second part includes information on other new research that has occurred since the last edition. As well as giving an account of research over a number of years into a particular case of blindsight, it provides a discussion of the historical and neurological background, a review of cases reported by other investigators, and a number of theoretical and practical issues and implications. The book will be valuable for cognitive psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists, as well as philosophers of mind.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0199567212/?tag=2022091-20
- Analysis of Behavioral Change.
- Blindsight: A Case Study and Its Implications (Oxford Psychology Series) by Lawrence Weiskrantz (1990-09-20)
- Blindsight: A Case Study and Implications (Oxford Psychology Series) by Lawrence Weiskrantz (1986-10-30)
- Blindsight: A Case Study and Implications (Oxford Psychology Series) by L. Weiskrantz (1990-08-09)
- Consciousness Lost and Found: A Neuropsychological Exploration by Lawrence Weiskrantz (1999-09-15)
- Consciousness Lost and Found: A Neuropsychological Exploration by Lawrence Weiskrantz (1997-06-26)
Lawrence Weiskrantz
Edit Profilepsychologist university professor
Education
Bachelor, Swarthmore College, 1949. Master of Science, University Oxford, England, 1950. Doctor of Philosophy, Harvard University, 1953.
Career
Shortly before his graduation, he was awarded a Catherwood fellowship at Oxford University. Weiskrantz became Professor of Psychology at Oxford University where he remained a full professor until his retirement in the 1990s. As of 2014, he is currently Professor Emeritus at Oxford University.
Weiskrantz has expressed a lifelong interest in the writings and research of the Russian neuropsychologist Alexander Luria, whom he had met and befriended while Luria was still doing research.
The two remained colleagues until Luria"s death in 1977. Weiskrantz is generally credited with having discovered the phenomenon of blindsight following his book on this subject in 1986, which is the voluntary visually evoked response to a stimulus presented within a scotoma.
Participant-time Lecturer, Tufts University, 1952
Research Associate, Institute. of Living, 1952-1955
Senior Postdoctoral Fellow, United States National Research Council, 1955-1956
Research Associate, University of Cambridge, 1956-1961
Assistant Director of Research, Cambridge, 1961-1966
Reader in Physiological Psychology, Cambridge University, 1966-1967. Founding President of the European Brain and Behaviour Society, 1969
Professor of Psychology, Oxford University, and Fellow, Magdalen College, Oxford, 1967–1993.
Professor Emeritus, since 1993.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1980. He was on its council in 1988–1989 and its Ferier lecturer in 1989.
Achievements
Works
book
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Blindsight: A Case Study and Implications (Oxford Psychology Series)
(The author and his collaborators were among the first to ...)
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Blindsight: a case study spanning 35 years and new developments (Oxford Psychology Series)
(Blindsight is an unusual condition where the sufferer can...)
-
Consciousness Lost and Found: A Neuropsychological Exploration
(The phenomenon of "consciousness" is intrinsically relate...)
-
Blindsight: A Case Study and Its Implications (Oxford Psychology Series)
(Damage to the neocortex is generally understood to result...)
- Analysis of Behavioral Change.
- Blindsight: A Case Study and Its Implications (Oxford Psychology Series) by Lawrence Weiskrantz (1990-09-20)
- Blindsight: A Case Study and Implications (Oxford Psychology Series) by Lawrence Weiskrantz (1986-10-30)
- Blindsight: A Case Study and Implications (Oxford Psychology Series) by L. Weiskrantz (1990-08-09)
- Consciousness Lost and Found: A Neuropsychological Exploration by Lawrence Weiskrantz (1999-09-15)
- Consciousness Lost and Found: A Neuropsychological Exploration by Lawrence Weiskrantz (1997-06-26)
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Blindsight: A Case Study and Implications (Oxford Psychology Series)
Membership
Sergeant United States Army Air Force, 1944-1946. Fellow Royal Society (member council 1988-1989). Member United States National Academy of Sciences Washington.
Inaugural president European Brain and Behavior Society, 1969.
Interests
Connections
Married Barbara Edna Collins, February 20, 1954. Children: Conrad, Julia.
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Born
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Nationality
United Kingdom
Education
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1949
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1950
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1953
Career
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1952 - 1955
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1955 - 1956
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1961 - 1966
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1966 - 1967
Awards
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Recipient Kenneth Craik award Cambridge University, St. John's College, 1976, Ferrier prize lecture Royal Society, London, 1989, Hughlings Jackson lecturer/medallist Royal Society Medicine, London, 1990. Fellow Magdalen College, Oxford, 1967-1993. William James fellow American Psychological Society, 1992, John P. McGovern award, lecturer/medallist American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2002.Recipient Kenneth Craik award Cambridge University, St. John's College, 1976, Ferrier prize lecture Royal Society, London, 1989, Hughlings Jackson lecturer/medallist Royal Society Medicine, London, 1990. Fellow Magdalen College, Oxford, 1967-1993. William James fellow American Psychological Society, 1992, John P. McGovern award, lecturer/medallist American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2002.