Anil Seth – Being You

In this engaging book, computational neuroscientist Anil Seth explains how – not only your experience of the world around you is being hallucinated by your brain – but your sense of self is a hallucination as well. Anil is without a doubt one of the greater thinkers of our time.

Gerald Edelman & Giulio Tononi – A universe of consciousness

This book by Nobel-prize winning biologist Edelman, and neuroscientist and psychiatrist Tononi presents one of the most prominent but also more controversial theories of consciousness: information integration theory. Despite being founded in solid mathematics, and providing a strong theoretical framework, this theory has let to a lot of scientific debate for its lack of falsifiability. A fascinating read that will make you pick sides in the debate about the nature of consciousness.

Douglas R. Hofstadter - Gödel, Escher, Bach

In this brilliant book, cognitive scientist Douglas Hofstadter investigates parallels (such as recurrence) in art, mathematics, programming, and consciousness. This is the type of book that requires you to think and rethink while reading, and that you will reread every decade, each time leading you to a new and deeper level of understanding.

Daniel Dennett – Conscious explained

Although consciousness is not yet explained, philosopher Daniel Dennett proposed a radically new perspective on the science of human consciousness. This is an easy read, and comprises many thought-provoking arguments and compelling thought experiments that will change your understanding of what consciousness is (and perhaps mostly, of what it is not).

Victor Lamme – De vrije wil bestaat niet (Free will does not exist)

In this quick read, which is unfortunately only available in Dutch, Cognitive Neuroscientist Victor Lamme compellingly explains why free will, as we experience it, has to be an illusion.