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Dewey Decimal Number: 126 EAN: 9780316180658 Edition: 1st ISBN: 0316180653 Label: Little Brown & Co (T) Manufacturer: Little Brown & Co (T) Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 511 Publication Date: 1991-10 Publisher: Little Brown & Co (T) Studio: Little Brown & Co (T) Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: Consciousness is notoriously difficult to explain. On one hand, there are facts about conscious experience--the way clarinets sound, the way lemonade tastes--that we know subjectively, from the inside. On the other hand, such facts are not readily accommodated in the objective world described by science. How, after all, could the reediness of clarinets or the tartness of lemonade be predicted in advance? Central to Daniel C. Dennett's attempt to resolve this dilemma is the "heterophenomenological" method, which treats reports of introspection nontraditionally--not as evidence to be used in explaining consciousness, but as data to be explained. Using this method, Dennett argues against the myth of the Cartesian theater--the idea that consciousness can be precisely located in space or in time. To replace the Cartesian theater, he introduces his own multiple drafts model of consciousness, in which the mind is a bubbling congeries of unsupervised parallel processing. Finally, Dennett tackles the conventional philosophical questions about consciousness, taking issue not only with the traditional answers but also with the traditional methodology by which they were reached. Dennett's writing, while always serious, is never solemn; who would have thought that combining philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience could be such fun? Not every reader will be convinced that Dennett has succeeded in explaining consciousness; many will feel that his account fails to capture essential features of conscious experience. But none will want to deny that the attempt was well worth making. --Glenn Branch Product Description: Consciousness separates us from other animals and machines--or does it? Can consciousness be scientifically reduced to chemical and mechanical processes? If so, where do morality, love, unhappiness, and joy fit in? Now the author of Brainstorms and coauthor of The Mind's I proposes an original model of consciousness based on new scientific fact and theory. 51 drawings. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Disappointing, Empty, and Agenda-Biased- I give this book zero stars out of ten, and I do not recommend it to anyone. As a matter of fact, I am utterly shocked that so many "enlightened minds" (scientists and philosophers) give just any credit to this book. Dennett seems to be driven by a sole agenda, namely: to wage war against dualism, and to enshrine monist-materialism. Curiously enough (but just so very typical...), this attitude prevents him from seeing, or better, from reporting, the true fatal flaw of dualism, ... Read More Rating: - Conciousness MystifiedDennett tries to explain conciousness away but clearly there is conciousness. The world is right before one's eyes, Present. Dennett's arguements about qualia are ludicrous. People find this book either worthless or valuable but either way Dennett's arguments against qualia are undermined as a quale is present in each case. On a different track Dennett is arguing that attention is impossible, via the Cartesian Theater arguments, that all there is are competing unconcious modules but to read this book ... Read More Rating:  - Lacks focus and clarity of exposition -- Confusion ExemplifiedIn this and many of his other books, Dennett tries to merge results and ideas from different fields into a coherent argument but in each book, he fails miserably. In most cases, after a few lines of hopeful introduction, he gets stuck in petty quibbles against other scientists and their arguments. He does not even properly outline the idea he is against. He just quotes passages and tries to come up with puns over the words or expressions they used. This is not scientific argument. This is ... Read More Rating:  - Playing With the Idea of ConsciousnessDennett can always be relied on for clever analogies, provocative themes and interesting thought experiments. For a philosopher, he writes colorfully and well. In the end, though, his book leaves the unavoidable impression that he enjoys the game of thinking a little too much. This, together with his insistence on evaluating first-person, subjective experience using the objective, third-person standards of science, gets in the way of a truly serious and open-minded search for answers. Although ... Read More Rating:  - I FILLED THIS BOX BECAUSE YOU TOLD ME SO. ~ShakeyInstead of the normal yay or nay review I'll post a few quotes that touch on the underlying theme of this book and the problem it deals with. . . . The problem with consciousness: "I'm writing a book on magic." I explain, and I'm asked, "Real magic?" By /real magic/ people mean miracles, thaumaturgical acts, and supernatural powers. "No." I answer: "Conjuring tricks, not real magic." ~ Siegel /Real magic/ in other words, refers to the magic that is not real, while ... Read More 
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