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Matter and Consciousness, Third Edition

by Churchland

ISBN: 9780262519588 | Copyright 2013

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In Matter and Consciousness , Paul Churchland presents a concise and contemporary overview of the philosophical issues surrounding the mind and explains the main theories and philosophical positions that have been proposed to solve them. Making the case for the relevance of theoretical and experimental results in neuroscience, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence for the philosophy of mind, Churchland reviews current developments in the cognitive sciences and offers a clear and accessible account of the connections to philosophy of mind.

For this third edition, the text has been updated and revised throughout. The changes range from references to the iPhone's "Siri" to expanded discussions of the work of such contemporary philosophers as David Chalmers, John Searle, and Thomas Nagel. Churchland describes new research in evolution, genetics, and visual neuroscience, among other areas, arguing that the philosophical significance of these new findings lies in the support they tend to give to the reductive and eliminative versions of materialism.

Matter and Consciousness , written by the most distinguished theorist and commentator in the field, offers an authoritative summary and sourcebook for issues in philosophy of mind. It is suitable for use as an introductory undergraduate text.

The book is superb as an introductory text. Difficult matters are treated from an introductory perspective gracefully, interestingly, and with remarkably little in the way of distorting simplification. My prediction is that the word about this book will spread, and it will soon be a standard textbook.

Ned Block New York University
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Contents (pg. v)
Preface to the 2013 Edition (pg. vii)
Preface to the 1988 Edition (pg. ix)
Preface to the 1984 Edition (pg. xi)
1 What Is This Book About? (pg. 1)
2 The Ontological Problem (the Mind–Body Problem) (pg. 11)
3 The Semantical Problem (pg. 87)
4 The Epistemological Problem (pg. 111)
5 The Methodological Problem (pg. 135)
6 Artificial Intelligence (pg. 157)
7 Neuroscience (pg. 191)
8 Expanding Our Perspective (pg. 261)
Index (pg. 283)

Paul M. Churchland

Paul M. Churchland is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of The Engine of Reason, the Seat of the Soul, Matter and Consciousness: A Contemporary Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind (both published by the MIT Press), and other books.