New Books in Science Alan J. McComas, "Consciousness: The Road to Reductionism" (American Scientist, 2025)
Feb 27, 2026
Alan J. McComas, emeritus professor of medicine and neurologist, discusses consciousness from a neurophysiological, reductionist angle. He explains self-awareness, ties memory and concept cells to recognition, and contrasts wakefulness with full conscious selfhood. He reviews historical debates, single-neuron evidence, Libet’s findings on free will, and critiques panpsychism and quantum claims.
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Consciousness Starts With Awareness Of Self
- Consciousness can be usefully defined as an awareness of self rather than a single unified phenomenon.
- Alan J. McComas emphasizes self-awareness as the likely first evolved aspect, distinct from sensory or planning awareness.
Reductionism Explained With A Car Analogy
- A reductionist approach breaks complex systems into parts to trace function from anatomy to chemistry.
- McComas compares studying consciousness to opening a car engine, then pistons, then fuels to show layered explanation.
Recording In Awake Parkinson Patients Guided Lesions
- McComas recounts recording single-neuron activity in awake Parkinson's patients to guide thalamic lesion surgery.
- He used long electrodes to localize targets, enabling Cooper's cooling lesions that reduced tremor.
