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Posted on 13 Nov 2018 in Non-Fiction | 2 comments

TIM PARKS Out of My Head: On the trail of consciousness. Reviewed by Folly Gleeson

Parks ushers us into the difficult world of science, where he gives a masterclass in the detailed analysis of scientific papers.

Tim Parks is a prolific writer of novels and nonfiction, and a translator who lives in Italy and lectures at the University of Milan. A few years ago I read Teach Us to Sit StilI – an exploration of his debilitating illness, which was alleviated by learning to meditate. An examination of the causes of prostate pain would not usually be my choice but I was so enamoured of his prose style that I could not be separated from the book. Out of My Head is another mesmerising look at a subject which is not on my bucket list. This is because I have needed remediation in maths and science subjects since I was five. I am always hoping for a way to learn about material that has been opaque to me for years.

In this book Parks attempts to examine the nature of consciousness by interviewing several scientists who are researching the nature of the mind, and by explaining the ‘Spread Mind’ theory of his friend, philosopher Riccardo Manzotti. He does this with a charming intimacy. The thoughts of his girlfriend Eleonora, as well as those of Manzotti, are revealed in interviews set down as remembered conversations. These graft the reader to the situation and the moment even though, as he confesses, the words are written much later. Parks is aware of his reader in a rather affectionate way and offers a personal connection to usher us into the difficult scientific world, where he gives a masterclass in the detailed analysis of scientific papers.

He contrasts the work of several researchers who have examined the neural pathways in the brain and emphasise the idea that all thought takes place in the brain itself, with Riccardo Manzotti’s developing theory that it is the connection between the observed object and the brain that creates consciousness. Heavy stuff, you will think, but Parks makes it extremely accessible. He recounts an interview with Professor Pauen, who uses scientific equipment to determine whether a child’s brain is changed by learning experiences. He also interviews Thomas Fuchs, who is both a philosopher and a psychiatrist, and tells us about their encounter with humour and wry perceptiveness:

But enough digression! I hear the reader object. Forget your mood, Parks – who cares – and get on with the substance! What was said at this meeting, and why were you asking Fuchs about dreams rather than he you? But there is no digression here, I promise. All this background is appropriate and necessary. Because Fuchs is a phenomenologist, one who believes that conscious states are best understood through the meticulous descriptions of those who experience them, an approach he inherits from, among others, his great predecessor Karl Jaspers; only the subject – me in this case – can express his subjective experience and we must give credit to what he tells us, even if we have no access to it.

He also interviews Hannah Monyer, a neuroscientist. This section is quite detailed and not really an easy read as it deals with the examination of mice brains and the recording of neurons firing. He is not very convinced that scientific examination does give insights into the nature of consciousness. He sees a drastic gap:

[between] … the meticulous recording, measuring and analysing of chemical processes and electrical activities – and the crude larger narrative in which these findings are presented.

At the end of the book he is still very much persuaded by the Spread Mind theory and he offers a wonderful exploration of his own experience and self- analysis:

So all one had to do was think of vision as touching and suddenly it was easy to appreciate that every time you moved your eyes the world happened anew, or rather a different object happened … Simultaneously the world and my experience. We were the same thing.

While I would not claim to have assimilated all the ideas Parks has examined, I have certainly enjoyed his company and his seductive prose, which can make the reader feel quite connected to the developing investigation.

Tim Parks Out of My Head: On the trail of consciousness Harvill Secker 2018 HB 320pp $35.00

Folly Gleeson was a lecturer in Communication Studies. At present she enjoys her book club and reading history and fiction.

You can buy Out of My Head from Abbey’s at a 10% discount by quoting the promotion code NEWTOWNREVIEW here.

To see if it is available from Newtown Library, click here.

2 Comments

  1. Lovely review! I do want to read this book!

    • Thank you Tracy. I am rereading. He provides so many nudges in various directions. Really, he is quite flirtatious.