This chapter lays out the central puzzle – the reversal of the fortunes of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Kuomintang (KMT) during the Republican Era. I contend that the emergence of a dominant leader aided the CCP’s ascension, whereas the contested leadership undermined the KMT. I first position the puzzling political development of the CCP and KMT within the framework of prevailing arguments in studies of authoritarian parties and Chinese politics, revealing that they are inadequate to explain the rise of the CCP and the demise of the KMT. I then succinctly recapitulate the key arguments of Domination and Mobilization, underscoring its unique contributions to three strands of scholarly discourse: the genesis of authoritarian parties, party-building by political organizations aims to seize power through nonelectoral means, and the rise of Communist movement in China. I conclude the chapter by outlining the plan for the book.

This introductory chapter surveys the field of consciousness research. It introduces the question of how we should define consciousness, and how consciousness is related to awareness and self-awareness. It discusses methods used to study consciousness research, including philosophical analysis, experimental investigation, brain imaging and neuroscience, and computer modelling. It asks whether there are different types of consciousness. The chapter also looks at the history of how we have thought about consciousness. It concludes by listing the many problems remaining to be solved in consciousness research, all of which will be addressed in the following text.

“This final chapter summarises the main findings of the book. It revisits the questions asked in the first chapter and summarises our current best guess as to their answers. It emphasises the difficulty in solving the ‘hard problem’ of consciousness, while exhorting the progress made in recent years, particularly in neuroscience, in addressing the so-called ‘easy’ (which are mostly rather hard) questions. The book concludes with the consideration of the possibility that a new approach to science might be needed in fully appreciating what it means to be conscious.”