stairway to the mind explores one of the most exciting and controversial areas of modern science: consciousness and the nature of the mind. the book proposes that consciousness emerges from hierarchical layers of mental reality, in the same way that life emerges from layers of biological reality. the book is aimed at general readers with an interest in the mind and neuroscience, as well as a wide range of scientists whose work is related to the rapidly-growing field of neuroscience and consciousness research.