The Bloomsbury companion to the philosophy of consciousness / edited by Dale Jacquette.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Jacquette, Dale, editor.

Series:

Bloomsbury companions

Bloomsbury companion

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Consciousness.

Physical Description:

x, 486 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York, NY : Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2018.

Summary:

From Descartes and Cartesian mind-body dualism in the 17th century though to 21st-century concerns about artificial intelligence programming, this volume presents a compelling history and up-to-date overview of this burgeoning subject area. Acknowledging that many of the original concepts of consciousness studies are found in writings of past thinkers, it begins with introductory overviews to the thought of Descartes through to Kant, covering Brentano's restoration of empiricism to philosophical psychology and the major figures of the late 19th and early 20th centuries: Russell, Wittgenstein, Ryle and James. These opening chapters on the forces in the history of consciousness lay the groundwork needed to understand how influential contemporary thinkers in the philosophy of mind interpret the concept of consciousness. Featuring leading figures in the field, Part II discusses current issues in a range of topics progressing from the so-called hard problem of understanding the nature of consciousness, to the methodology of invoking the possibility of philosophical zombies and the prospects of reductivism in philosophy of mind. Part III is dedicated to new research directions in the philosophy of consciousness, including chapters on experiment objections to functionalism and the scope and limits of artificial intelligence.

Contents:

1 Introduction: Philosophy of Consciousness 1

Part 1 Historical Development

2 The Hard Problem of Understanding Descartes on Consciousness 11

3 Brentano's Aristotelian Concept of Consciousness 27

4 Wittgenstein and the Concept of Consciousness 57

5 'Ordinary' Consciousness 78

Part 2 Groundbreaking Concepts of Consciousness

6 Consciousness, Representation and the Hard Problem 93

7 The Knowledge Argument and Two Interpretations of 'Knowing What it's Like' 108

8 Conscious and Unconscious Mental States 126

9 Higher-Order Theories of Consciousness 142

10 Kripke on Mind-Body Identity 170

Part 3 Metaphilosophy of Consciousness Studies

11 Understanding Consciousness by Building It 187

12 The Illusion of Conscious Thought 211

13 Actualism About Consciousness Affirmed 234

14 Cracking the Hard Problem of Consciousness 258

Part 4 Mental Causation, Natural Law and Intentionality of Conscious States

15 Toward Axiomatizing Consciousness 289

16 Intentionality and Consciousness 325

17 Cognitive Approaches to Phenomenal Consciousness 347

18 Free Will and Consciousness 371

19 Notes Towards a Metaphysics of Mind 389

Part 5 Resources

20 Annotated Bibliography 413

21 Research Resources 428

22 A-Z Key Terms and Concepts 437.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Jacquette, Dale. Bloomsbury companion to the philosophy of consciousness.

ISBN:

9781474229012

1474229018

OCLC:

935985727