The Feeling of Embodiment A Case Study in Explaining Consciousness
This book proposes a novel and rigorous explanation of consciousness. It argues that the study of an aspect of our self-consciousness known as the ‘feeling of embodiment’ teaches us that there are two distinct phenomena to be targeted by an explanation of
- PDF / 2,068,397 Bytes
- 195 Pages / 433.701 x 612.283 pts Page_size
- 67 Downloads / 261 Views
The Feeling of Embodiment
Glenn Carruthers
The Feeling of Embodiment A Case Study in Explaining Consciousness
Glenn Carruthers School of Psychology Charles Sturt University Port Macquarie, NSW, Australia
ISBN 978-3-030-14166-0 ISBN 978-3-030-14167-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14167-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2019932114 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
For Zac and Lizzy. For Laura and Sid.
Preface and Acknowledgements
The problem of consciousness has been with me just about as long as I can remember. At some point, my best guess is in 1990, mum asked me if I thought the mind was just the activity of the brain or if it was something more. My answer was wrong. Hopefully I am less wrong now. I shied away from the question for a long time, determined to study cosmology instead. But, I’m glad I returned to questions about the nature of the mind and consciousness as an adult. It is a very special kind of question after all. Perhaps this is because we tend to think of consciousness as a very special kind of thing. When Geordi LaForge asks the Enterprise-D computer to build a Holmes style problem capable of defeating Data, the computer doesn’t simply create a more complex problem, nor does it give Moriarty any spectacular superpowers. Instead it makes a conscious Moriarty. Even if I am not inclined to think of consciousness as a kind of magical necessity for creativity and learning, I do agree that being conscious is a pretty special thing. Not everything is conscious, but for those things that are conscio
Data Loading...
