Computing Reviews
Today's Issue Hot Topics Search Browse Recommended My Account Log In
Review Help
Search
Consciousness inside and out : phenomenology, neuroscience, and the nature of experience
Brown R., Springer Publishing Company, Incorporated, New York, NY, 2013. 330 pp. Type: Book (978-9-400760-00-4)
Date Reviewed: Feb 6 2015

This wonderful book deals with a variety of issues related to our thought and perception about consciousness; philosophical issues pertaining to the mind are addressed within the domain of neuroscience. The aim is to invite both philosophers and scientists into a rigorous dialogue about consciousness.

This carefully edited volume by Richard Brown is the offshoot of the Third Online Consciousness Conference, held at http://consciousnessonline.com in February and March 2011. The chapters vary from issues that are epistemic (our knowledge of something) to those that are ontic (what is actual). For instance, we begin with Part 1, “First-Person Data and the Science of Consciousness,” chapter 2, “Epistemology or Phenomenology?” where “unicepts” are introduced as the basic building blocks of cognition and empirical beliefs. In contrast, we have “The Ontology of Audition,” Part 7, which argues that sound can be directly perceived only by hearing, though it can be indirectly perceived by seeing or feeling (for example, wind).

Several other issues, that go deep into the philosophy of mind, such as black-and-white vision, sensation of pain, synesthesia, and visual imagery, are discussed at length with contributions from neuroscience. So are dualism, multimodal experience, and higher theories on consciousness, including dreams.

A positive point of the volume is that every section has a target essay, with comments and rejoinder by the author(s). As a result, we end up with “conversations that are highly integrated” and not merely excerpts of what had actually happened at the conference. However, I would have liked to see a discussion on the pleasure sensation as it connects with the neurotransmitter dopamine, as confirmed by neuroscientists. A negative point is the absence of an index.

Reviewer:  Soubhik Chakraborty Review #: CR143160 (1505-0374)
Bookmark and Share
  Reviewer Selected
Featured Reviewer
 
 
Life And Medical Sciences (J.3 )
 
 
Social And Behavioral Sciences (J.4 )
 
Would you recommend this review?
yes
no
Other reviews under "Life And Medical Sciences": Date
Microcomputer-assisted identification of bacteria and multicriteria decision models
Fichefet J., Leclerco J., Beyne P., Rousselet-Piette F. Computers and Operations Research 11(4): 361-372, 1984. Type: Article
Aug 1 1985
Medicine in the age of the computer
Flynn G., Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ, 1986. Type: Book (9789780135729755)
Jul 1 1986
Resistance to computerization: an examination of the relationship between resistance and the cognitive style of the clinician
Mandell S. Journal of Medical Systems 11(4): 311-318, 1987. Type: Article
Oct 1 1988
more...

E-Mail This Printer-Friendly
Send Your Comments
Contact Us
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.   Copyright 1999-2024 ThinkLoud®
Terms of Use
| Privacy Policy