Towards a History of Consciousness:
Space, Time, and Death

By Vwadek P. Marciniak

Preface

This search for an historic context regarding the appearance and meaning of consciousness began more than thirty years ago when the topic of our split brain, the right and left hemisphere, came to light. From the beginning the subject proved both challenging and significant if not revolutionary. It became clear that the issue of consciousness would soon dominate a great amount of our intellectual and scholarly attention, which it has. A great many scholarly disciplines had taken up the subject with books and articles appearing expeditiously but offering a less than satisfactory understanding of this remarkable term. Only after years of reading, studying and thought followed by the gathering of data, was it obvious that there was a vacuity in the world of scholarship confronting the issue of explaining the appearance of a
conscious self. Because my discipline as an historiographer has been so conspicuous in its absence it became clear that someone had to step into the breech. The following is such an attempt.

A note of appreciation must be made to my former undergraduate mentor, Dr. Windsor Hall Roberts, for illuminating the way of Western history and political thought. Special thanks must also be expressed to J. T. Ferguson for her outstanding editing and assistance and without whose contribution this work could not have been completed.
As for all ideas, as well as errors that appear here, this author and this
author alone must take responsibility.