Understanding Consciousness
(Goldsmiths, University of London)
Cheriton House, North Way, Andover, Hampshire, SP10 5BE, UK;
Tel: +44 (0) 1264 343071; Fax: +44 (0) 1264 343005;
E-mail: book.orders@tandf.co.uk
ISBN 0-415-22492-6 £14.99 pbk
ISBN 0-415-18655-2 £40 hbk
REVIEWS
This book is excellent. There are lots of books on consciousness, but
few which mix the philosophical, psychological and neuroscientific,
and even fewer which are written without an axe to grind ... a lovely
book ... I'll be recommending it to everyone I see.
John Kihlstrom, University of California at Berkeley
An exceptionally lucid and balanced account of the different
approaches to and aspects of the problem. Useful for both scientists
and philosophers ... a beautifully written text.
Jeffrey Gray, Institute of Psychiatry, London
... a splendid assessment of and contribution to the debate about
consciousness as it is currently being waged between psychologists,
philosophers, some neuroscientists and AI people.
Steven Rose, The Open University, UK.
This is a splendid book ... In my view it should have a
profound and lasting effect upon the debate as to the nature and
function of consciousness, and should stimulate much new thinking and investigation.
David Fontana, University of Cardiff, UK and University of Algarve, Portugal,
...complements Chalmer’s influential The Conscious Mind in
illustrating precisely why and how the problem of consciousness is
indeed a hard rather than an easy problem. Like Jaynes’
celebrated Origin of Consciousness, Velmans’ book will be found
informative and stimulating even by those who in the end are nor
persuaded that it vouchsaves the solution.
Stevan Harnad, Southampton University
SYNOPSIS
The mysteries of consciousness have gripped the human imagination for
over 2500 years. At the dawn of the new millennium, this book
provides solutions to some of the deepest puzzles surrounding its
nature and function that are consistent with science, ordinary
experience, and common-sense.
Drawing on recent scientific discoveries, Max Velmans challenges
conventional reductionist thought, providing an understanding of how
consciousness relates to the brain and physical world that is neither
dualist, nor reductionist. The book should be of interest to
psychologists, philosophers, neuroscientists and other professionals
concerned with mind/body relationships, and all who care about this subject.
Excerpted from Understanding Consciousness by Max Velmans. Copyright
© 2000. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
From the Preface: Consciousness is personal. Indeed, it is so
close to the core of what it is to be human that it has puzzled
thinkers from the beginnings of recorded history. What is it? What
does it do? How does it relate to the physical world and to the
workings of our bodies and brains? At the dawn of the new millennium
answers to some of these questions are beginning to emerge. However,
there is not one mind-body problem, but many. Some of problems are
empirical, some are conceptual, and some are both. This book deals
with some of the deepest puzzles and paradoxes.
A good story has a beginning, a middle and an end, so the book is
arranged in three parts. The first part, 'Mind-body theories
and their problems' summarises current thinking about the nature and
function of consciousness, pinpointing the strengths and weaknesses
of the dominant mind-body theories. The international 'conscious
debate' has largely been fuelled by two competing world-views:
dualism, which splits the universe into two fundamentally different
mental and physical substances or properties, and materialist
reductionism, which claims consciousness to be nothing more that a
state or function of the brain. While dualism seems to be
inconsistent with the findings of materialist science, reductionism
seems to be inconsistent with the evidence of ordinary experience.
The challenge is to understand consciousness in a way that does
justice to both.
Part 2 of this book, 'How to marry science with experience',
goes back to first principles. Rather than seeking to defend either
dualism or reductionism, we start with a close examination of
experience itself. I suggest that if one does this with care, the old
boundaries that separate consciousness from the physical world can be
seen to be drawn in the wrong place! This turns the mind-body problem
around on its axis and forces one to re-examine how consciousness
relates to the physical world, to knowledge and to the detailed
workings of the brain. At first glance, these intricate relationships
of mind, matter and knowledge seen to form an impenetrable 'world
knot'. But, as far as I can tell, it is possible to unravel it, step
by simple step, in a way that is consistent with the findings of
science and with common sense.
Part 3 of this book provides a synthesis. In it I suggest what
consciousness is and does. I also develop a form of 'reflexive
monism' which treats human consciousness as just one, natural
manifestation of a wider self-conscious universe. Although the route
to this position is new, the position itself is ancient. I find this
very reassuring. Understanding consciousness requires us to move from
the understanding of things we are conscious of, to understanding our
role as conscious observers, and then to consciousness itself - an
act of self-reflection which requires an outward journey and a
return. If the place of return does not seem familiar, it is probably
the wrong place.
CONTENTS
Part 1: Mind/body Theories and Their Problems.What is consciousness?
Is there a conscious soul in the brain? Are mind and matter the same
thing? Are mind and consciousness just activities? Could robots be conscious?
Part 2: A New Analysis -
How to Marry Science with Experience. Conscious phenomenology and
common sense. Experienced worlds, the world described by Physics, and
the thing-itself. Subjective, intersubjective, and objective science.
Consciousness, brains, and human information processing.
Part 3: A New Synthesis Reflexive Monism.What
consciousness is.
What consciousness does. Self-consciousness in a reflexive universe.