β Scribed by William G. Lycan
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
What is consciousness? The answer to this question has been pondered upon, grappled with, and argued about since time immemorial. There has never been an answer that achieved consensus; certainly philosophers have never agreed. In this book, William Lycan defends an original theory of mind that he calls "homuncular functionalism." He argues that human beings are "functionally organized information-processing systems" who have no non-physical parts or properties. However, Lycan also recognizes the subjective phenomenal qualities of mental states and events, and an important sense in which mind is "over and above" mere chemical matter. Along the way, Lycan reviews some diverse philosophical accounts of consciousness-including those of Kripke, Block, Campbell, Sellars, and CastaΓ±eda, among others-and demonstrates how what is valuable in each opposing view can be accommodated within his own theory. Consciousness is Lycan's most ambitious book, one that has engaged his attention for years. He handles a fascinating subject in a unique and undoubtedly controversial manner that will make this book a mainstay in the field of philosophy of mind. A Bradford Book
Preface......Page 2
Acknowledgments......Page 4
1. Consciousness and Nature......Page 5
2. Functionalism and Essence......Page 13
3. Stalking the Tinfoil Man......Page 26
4. The Continuity of Levels of Nature......Page 39
5. Homunctionalism and "Qualia"......Page 51
6. Awareness and Intentionality......Page 72
7. "Subjectivity"......Page 76
8. Color as a Paradigm Case of a Quale......Page 83
9. Freedom of the Will and the Spontaneity of Consciousness......Page 112
Appendix: Machine Consciousness......Page 122
Notes......Page 130
References......Page 149
Index......Page 158
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