an inteligent layman’s attempt to understand consciousness and free will

Of all the unanswered questions which confront us perhaps the greatest is the mystery of our own consciousness. What is the difference between a conscious brain and an unconscious one? Are we conscious when we are dreaming? What animals, besides ourselves, are conscious? Will there ever be a scientific explanation of consciousness? Will we ever be able to build a conscious machine? Would it be wise to do so? This book explores the extent to which we can address some of these questions from a scientific but non-specialist point of view.