The Natural Problem of Consciousness
- ISBN-10
- 3110525577
- ISBN-13
- 9783110525571
- Category
- Philosophy
- Pages
- 257
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2017-06-12
- Publisher
- Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
- Author
- Pietro Snider
Description
The “Natural Problem of Consciousness” is the problem of understanding why there are presently conscious beings at all. Given a non-reductive naturalist framework taking consciousness as an ontologically subjective biological phenomenon, how can we rationally explain the fact that the actual world has turned out to be one where there are presently living beings that can feel, rather than having developed as a zombie-world in which there would be no conscious experiences of any kind? This book introduces the Natural Problem by relating it to central problems in the philosophy of mind (metaphysical mind-body problem, Hard Problem of consciousness) and emphasizing the distinctive interest of its diachronic dimension. Ranging from philosophy to biology and neuroscience, it offers a thorough analysis aimed at better understanding what could explain why phenomenal consciousness has been preserved throughout evolution by natural selection. This is an original, engaging, and thought provoking philosophical study of a neglected but fundamental question regarding the nature and origin of consciousness.
Get the book
Other editions
Similar books
-
The Natural Problem of Consciousness
By Pietro SniderThis is an original, engaging, and thought provoking philosophical study of a neglected but fundamental question regarding the nature and origin of consciousness.
-
The Nature of Consciousness: Philosophical Debates
By Ned Block, Owen Flanagan, Guven GuzeldereMcGinn , C. 1982. “ The Structure of Content . " In A. Woodfield ( ed . ) , Thought and Object , Oxford : Oxford University Press , pp . 207–259 . McGinn , C. 1989. Mental Content . Oxford : Basil Blackwell . Matthews , R. J. 1988.
-
Heidegger and the Problem of Consciousness
By Nancy J. HollandNancy J. Holland turns to the thought of Martin Heidegger to help understand an age-old philosophical question: Is there a split between the body and the mind?
-
A Place for Consciousness: Probing the Deep Structure of the Natural World
By Gregg RosenbergA Place for Consciousness begins with reflections on the existence of this gap. Is it just a psychological shortcoming in our merely human understanding of the physical world?
-
Ten Problems of Consciousness: A Representational Theory of the Phenomenal Mind
By Michael TyeRepresentation and Mind Hilary Putnam and Ned Block , editors Representation and Reality Hilary Putnam Explaining Behavior : Reasons in a World of Causes Fred Dretske The Metaphysics of Meaning Jerrold J. Katz A Theory of Content and ...
-
Consciousness: Theories in Neuroscience and Philosophy of Mind
By Andrea Eugenio Cavanna, Andrea Nani... Pete Mandik's This Is Philosophy of Mind: An Introduction (2013), and Andrew Bailey's (editor) Philosophy of Mind: The Key Thinkers (2014). Some of the most important academic publishers have also produced useful reference guides, ...
-
Origins of Consciousness: How the Search to Understand the Nature of Consciousness is Leading to a New View of Reality
By Adrian David NelsonThis book explores ideas and evidence now changing the way scientists and philosophers approach the place of consciousness in the universe.
-
Consciousness and Its Place in Nature: Does Physicalism Entail Panpsychism?
By Galen StrawsonFor the last five years philosopher Galen Strawson has provoked a mixture of shock and scepticism with his carefully argued case that physicalism (the view that every real, concrete phenomenon...
-
Consciousness Explained
By Daniel C. DennettIn this landmark book, Daniel Dennett refutes the traditional, commonsense theory of consciousness and presents a new model, based on a wealth of information from the fields of neuroscience, psychology, and artificial intelligence.
-
The Blackwell Guide to Philosophy of Mind
By Stephen P. Stich, Ted A. WarfieldIn S. Christensen and D. Turner (eds.), Folk Psychology and the Philosophy of Mind. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: 144–87. Wittgenstein, L. (1953). Philosophical Investigations, trans. G. E. M. Anscombe.