The Science of the Mind

(Paperback, second edition)

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Description

Consciousness emerges as the key topic in this second edition of Owen Flanagan's popular introduction to cognitive science and the philosophy of psychology. in a new chapter Flanagan develops a neurophilosophical theory of subjective mental life. He brings recent developments in the theory of neuronal group selection and connectionism to bear on the problems of the evolution of consciousness, qualia, the unique first-personal aspects of consciousness, the causal role of consciousness, and the function and development of the sense of personal identity. He has also substantially revised the chapter on cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence to incorporate recent discussions of connectionism and parallel distributed processing.

Reviews

"This work by a philosopher well versed in current psychological movements is clearly the best contemporary introduction to the quest for a science of mind... Showing the requisite respect for each of the major thinkers or movements that he examines -- Descartes, James, Freud, Skinner, Piaget, Kohlberg, cognitive scientists, Proponents of artificial intelligence, sociobiologists -- [Flanagan] exposes in each case the presuppositions and the limitations, raises penetrating questions about the coherence and adequacy of the theories." Bernard Kaplan , Clark University, in Choice "To survey the contemporary scene as intelligently and judiciously as Flanagan does here is no mean accomplishment. As an unpolemical guide to current issues in the philosophy of psychology, it is an important contribution to the literature." Gerald E. Myers , Graduate Center, CUNY, in Teaching Philosophy

Author Bio

Owen Flanagan is James B. Duke Professor of Philosophy at Duke University. He is the author of Consciousness Reconsidered and The Really Hard Problem- Meaning in a Material World, both published by the MIT Press, and other books.