Vagueness and the Evolution of Consciousness

Vagueness and the Evolution of Consciousness PDF Author: Michael Tye
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198867239
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 141

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Book Description
The two dominant theories of consciousness argue it appeared in living beings either suddenly, or gradually. Both theories face problems. The solution is the realization that a foundational consciousness was always here, yet varying conscious states were not, and appeared gradually. Michael Tye explores this idea and the key questions it raises.

Vagueness and the Evolution of Consciousness

Vagueness and the Evolution of Consciousness PDF Author: Michael Tye
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198867239
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 141

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Book Description
The two dominant theories of consciousness argue it appeared in living beings either suddenly, or gradually. Both theories face problems. The solution is the realization that a foundational consciousness was always here, yet varying conscious states were not, and appeared gradually. Michael Tye explores this idea and the key questions it raises.

The Evolution of Consciousness

The Evolution of Consciousness PDF Author: Paula Droege
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1350166790
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
The Evolution of Consciousness brings together interdisciplinary insights from philosophy, neuroscience, psychology and cognitive science to explain consciousness in terms of the biological function that grounds it in the physical world. Drawing on the novel analogy of a house of cards, Paula Droege pieces together various conceptual questions and shows how they rest on each other to form a coherent, structured argument. She asserts that the mind is composed of unconscious sensory and cognitive representations, which become conscious when they are selected and coordinated into a representation of the present moment. This temporal representation theory deftly bridges the gap between mind and body by highlighting that physical systems are conscious when they can respond flexibly to actions in the present. With examples from evolution, animal cognition, introspection and the free will debate, this is a compelling and animated account of the possible explanations of consciousness, offering answers to the conceptual question of how consciousness can be considered a cognitive process.

Evolution of Consciousness

Evolution of Consciousness PDF Author: Shirley Sugerman
Publisher: Wesleyan
ISBN:
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description


Evolution and Consciousness

Evolution and Consciousness PDF Author: Michael Michelo DelMonte
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004408754
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
This volume provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the emerging concept of the evolution of consciousness. It presents an overarching model that moves us to a new level of meaning and understanding of our place in the world.

Do We Have a Soul?

Do We Have a Soul? PDF Author: Eric T. Olson
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000845591
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Are we made entirely of matter, like sticks and stones? Or do we have a soul—a nonphysical entity—where our mental lives take place? The authors Eric T. Olson and Aaron Segal begin this accessible and wide-ranging debate by looking at the often-overlooked question of whether we appear in ordinary experience to be material things. Olson then argues that the dependence of our mental lives on the condition of our brains—the fact that general anesthesia causes complete unconsciousness, for instance—is best explained by saying that our mental lives are physical activities in our brains rather than nonphysical activities in the soul. Segal objects that this view is incompatible with two obvious and important facts about ourselves: that there is only one of you rather than trillions of almost identical beings now thinking your thoughts, and that we exist and remain conscious for more than an instant. These facts, he claims, are presupposed in our practical and moral judgments—but they require us to be immaterial things. Olson is forced to concede that there is no easy and uncontroversial answer to these objections but doubts whether taking us to be immaterial would be any help. The debate takes in large philosophical questions extending well beyond dualism and materialism. The book features clear statements of each argument, responses to counter-arguments, in-text definitions, a glossary of key terms, and section summaries. Scholars and students alike will find it easy to follow the debate and learn the key concepts from metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and other areas necessary to understand each position. Key Features Is the only introductory book devoted to the debate between substance dualism and materialism Discusses both traditional and novel arguments for each position Debates important but infrequently discussed questions, including: do we appear, in ordinary experience, to be material? should materialism be the default view? is there a good probabilistic argument for materialism? Written in a lively and accessible style Uses only a limited number of technical terms and defines all of them in the glossary

Consciousness and the Social Brain

Consciousness and the Social Brain PDF Author: Michael S. A. Graziano
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199928657
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
What is consciousness and how can a brain, a mere collection of neurons, create it? In Consciousness and the Social Brain, Princeton neuroscientist Michael Graziano lays out an audacious new theory to account for the deepest mystery of them all. The human brain has evolved a complex circuitry that allows it to be socially intelligent. This social machinery has only just begun to be studied in detail. One function of this circuitry is to attribute awareness to others: to compute that person Y is aware of thing X. In Graziano's theory, the machinery that attributes awareness to others also attributes it to oneself. Damage that machinery and you disrupt your own awareness. Graziano discusses the science, the evidence, the philosophy, and the surprising implications of this new theory.

Philosophy and the Evolution of Consciousness

Philosophy and the Evolution of Consciousness PDF Author: Daniel Smitherman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 114

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Book Description
To understand the history of philosophy means understanding the mind and work of individuals thousands of years and miles and cultures distant from the reader. Daniel Smitherman presents one way to further that understanding, by taking a deep dive into Owen Barfield's seminal work of phenomenology of history, Saving the Appearances. The author then shows how the core ideas of Barfield, and the wider field of phenomenology, bring intelligibility to an otherwise baffling, or misleadingly simple, legacy of human thinking across the globe and through the centuries.

The Radiance of Being

The Radiance of Being PDF Author: Allan Combs
Publisher: Continuum
ISBN:
Category : Brain
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
In this ground-breaking work, Allan Combs presents a wide-ranging survey of the nature and origins of consciousness research, viewing consciousness as a dynamic and self-organizing process with evolutionary potential. Combs reviews the work of evolutionary theorists such as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Ken Wilber, Jean Gebser, and Sri Aurobindo. What emerges is a fascinating study of consciousness that discloses itself as a rich and ongoing act of self-creation, poised at the edge of chaos between past and future.

The Metaphysics of Sensory Experience

The Metaphysics of Sensory Experience PDF Author: David Papineau
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198862393
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
What is going on when we are consciously aware of a visual scene, or hear sounds, or otherwise enjoy sensory experience? David Papineau argues controversially for a purely qualitative account: conscious sensory experiences are intrinsic states with no essential connection to external circumstances or represented properties.

Tense Bees and Shell-shocked Crabs

Tense Bees and Shell-shocked Crabs PDF Author: Michael Tye
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190278013
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
What is it like 'on the inside' for nonhuman animals? Do they feel anything? Most people happily accept that dogs, for example, share many experiences and feelings with us. But what about simpler creatures? Fish? Honeybees? Crabs? Turning to the artificial realm, what about robots? This work presents answers to these questions.