Mind: A Brief Introduction Export

@book{citeulike:309634, abstract = {The philosophy of mind is unique among contemporary philosophical subjects, writes John Searle, "in that all of the most famous and influential theories are false." In Mind, Searle dismantles these famous and influential theories as he presents a vividly written, comprehensive introduction to the mind. Here readers will find one of the world's most eminent thinkers shedding light on the central concern of modern philosophy. Searle begins with a look at the twelve problems of philosophy of mind--which he calls "Descartes and Other Disasters"--problems which he returns to throughout the volume, as he illuminates such topics as the freedom of the will, the actual operation of mental causation, the nature and functioning of the unconscious, the analysis of perception, and the concept of the self. One of the key chapters is on the mind-body problem, which Searle analyzes brilliantly. He argues that all forms of consciousness--from feeling thirsty to wondering how to translate Mallarme--are caused by the behavior of neurons and are realized in the brain system, which is itself composed of neurons. But this does not mean that consciousness is nothing but neuronal behavior. The main point of having the concept of consciousness, Searle points out, is to capture the first person subjective features of the phenomenon and this point is lost if we redefine consciousness in third person objective terms. Described as a "dragonslayer by temperament," John Searle offers here a refreshingly direct and open discussion of philosophy, one that skewers accepted wisdom even as it offers striking new insights into the nature of consciousness and the mind.}, author = {Searle, John R.}, citeulike-article-id = {309634}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike09-20&path=ASIN/0195157338}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike01-21&path=ASIN/0195157338}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://www.amazon.fr/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike06-21&path=ASIN/0195157338}, citeulike-linkout-3 = {http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0195157338/citeulike00-21}, citeulike-linkout-4 = {http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike07-20&path=ASIN/0195157338}, citeulike-linkout-5 = {http://www.worldcat.org/isbn/0195157338}, citeulike-linkout-6 = {http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN0195157338}, citeulike-linkout-7 = {http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?keywords=0195157338&index=books&linkCode=qs}, citeulike-linkout-8 = {http://www.librarything.com/isbn/0195157338}, comment = {Discussion with Russ Abbott (http://abbott.calstatela.edu/ ) (R) and myself (M): R: Seale wants to explain consciousness as a level of abstraction, but he apparently doesn't know the concept. M: I think he also wants to say something about it being emergent (I also get the feeling from some phrases that he wants it to be strongly emergent, but I am not sure I share the same meaning of some words with him). He confuses the two issues (levels of abstraction vs. emergence, not necessarily the same thing, though often interrelated). R: And even if he did, it wouldn't explain subjective experience. M: I agree. I think there is an element of self-reflection and self-awareness also. R: I think he confuses the fact that a level of abstraction can be ontologically irreducible with subjective experience, which is more than just that. M: I agree, I think that he needs to look more about the details of generating a sense of reflection upon things. Another thought is that his goal seems to be to try and rescue "common sense" but common sense is often wrong when faced with complex things and even complicated unusual things (eg QM or SR), though I do think a lot of philosophy is absurdly too far out of whack with what even science says (Russell: "The point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it.")}, day = {28}, howpublished = {Hardcover}, isbn = {0195157338}, keywords = {causality, consciousness, philosophy}, month = {August}, posted-at = {2007-08-22 02:36:32}, priority = {0}, publisher = {Oxford University Press}, series = {Fundamentals of Philosophy}, title = {Mind: A Brief Introduction}, url = {http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike07-20&path=ASIN/0195157338}, year = {2004} }

TY - BOOK ID - citeulike:309634 L3 - citeulike-article-id:309634 N2 - The philosophy of mind is unique among contemporary philosophical subjects, writes John Searle, "in that all of the most famous and influential theories are false." In Mind, Searle dismantles these famous and influential theories as he presents a vividly written, comprehensive introduction to the mind. Here readers will find one of the world's most eminent thinkers shedding light on the central concern of modern philosophy. Searle begins with a look at the twelve problems of philosophy of mind--which he calls "Descartes and Other Disasters"--problems which he returns to throughout the volume, as he illuminates such topics as the freedom of the will, the actual operation of mental causation, the nature and functioning of the unconscious, the analysis of perception, and the concept of the self. One of the key chapters is on the mind-body problem, which Searle analyzes brilliantly. He argues that all forms of consciousness--from feeling thirsty to wondering how to translate Mallarme--are caused by the behavior of neurons and are realized in the brain system, which is itself composed of neurons. But this does not mean that consciousness is nothing but neuronal behavior. The main point of having the concept of consciousness, Searle points out, is to capture the first person subjective features of the phenomenon and this point is lost if we redefine consciousness in third person objective terms. Described as a "dragonslayer by temperament," John Searle offers here a refreshingly direct and open discussion of philosophy, one that skewers accepted wisdom even as it offers striking new insights into the nature of consciousness and the mind. SE - Fundamentals of Philosophy SN - 0195157338 TI - Mind: A Brief Introduction PB - Oxford University Press KW - causality KW - consciousness KW - philosophy N1 - Discussion with Russ Abbott (http://abbott.calstatela.edu/ ) (R) and myself (M): R: Seale wants to explain consciousness as a level of abstraction, but he apparently doesn't know the concept. M: I think he also wants to say something about it being emergent (I also get the feeling from some phrases that he wants it to be strongly emergent, but I am not sure I share the same meaning of some words with him). He confuses the two issues (levels of abstraction vs. emergence, not necessarily the same thing, though often interrelated). R: And even if he did, it wouldn't explain subjective experience. M: I agree. I think there is an element of self-reflection and self-awareness also. R: I think he confuses the fact that a level of abstraction can be ontologically irreducible with subjective experience, which is more than just that. M: I agree, I think that he needs to look more about the details of generating a sense of reflection upon things. Another thought is that his goal seems to be to try and rescue "common sense" but common sense is often wrong when faced with complex things and even complicated unusual things (eg QM or SR), though I do think a lot of philosophy is absurdly too far out of whack with what even science says (Russell: "The point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it.") AU - Searle, John PY - 2004/08/28/ UR - http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/redirect?tag=citeulike09-20&path=ASIN/0195157338 ER -