Reflections on the Problem of Consciousness

Preface

I. The Crucial Question - Mind, Brain and Body

II. Dennett and Descartes

III. A Natural Method

IV. Descartes's Error and Spinoza's Truth

V. The Dynamic Brain

VI. Guidance from Past Insights

VII. The Conditions of Consciousness

VIII. Who or What Thinks?

IX. Towards a Solution

Appendix The Theory of Emergence and Contemporary Criticism

Bibliography. Index.

From the reviews:"This book makes distinctive and rare contributions to philosophy of mind. The most significant and unusual virtue of this book is its range, combining a deep knowledge of the history of philosophy with critiques of contemporary works in philosophy of mind and the sciences of cognition. There are a few writers who have pursued a dialog between contemporary philosophy of mind/cognitive science and Contintental philosophers such as Husserl, Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty and Pragmatists such as William James. Harris is unique, in my experience, in bringing to bear additional insights from such fixtures in the philosophical canon as Aristotle, Spinoza, Hegel, Bradley and Collingwood alongside such contemporary spokespersons of cognitive science as Antonio Damasio and Daniel Dennett. For those us of us who think that those who ignore the lessons of philosophical history may be condemned to repeat them, this book may prove an important challenge." (Steven Horst, Chair of Philosophy, Wesleyan University, CT, USA)"Every library should be in possession of this engaging and delightful book. Anyone interested in the problems of the philosophy of mind, both scholars and layman alike, will find this insightful book both highly rewarding and a joy to read."(Samuel Attard, Department of Philosophy, St. John's College, New York, USA)