The Routledge Handbook of Consciousness

Front Cover
Rocco J. Gennaro
Routledge, Mar 15, 2018 - Philosophy - 506 pages

There has been an explosion of work on consciousness in the last 30–40 years from philosophers, psychologists, and neurologists. Thus, there is a need for an interdisciplinary, comprehensive volume in the field that brings together contributions from a wide range of experts on fundamental and cutting-edge topics. The Routledge Handbook of Consciousness fills this need and makes each chapter’s importance understandable to students and researchers from a variety of backgrounds. Designed to complement and better explain primary sources, this volume is a valuable "first-stop" publication for undergraduate or graduate students enrolled in any course on "Consciousness," "Philosophy of Mind," or "Philosophy of Psychology," as well as a valuable handbook for researchers in these fields who want a useful reference to have close at hand. The 34 chapters, all published here for the first time, are divided into three parts:

  • Part I covers the "History and Background Metaphysics" of consciousness, such as dualism, materialism, free will, and personal identity, and includes a chapter on Indian philosophy.
  • Part II is on specific "Contemporary Theories of Consciousness," with chapters on representational, information integration, global workspace, attention-based, and quantum theories.
  • Part III is entitled "Major Topics in Consciousness Research," with chapters on psychopathologies, dreaming, meditation, time, action, emotion, multisensory experience, animal and robot consciousness, and the unity of consciousness.

Each chapter begins with a brief introduction and concludes with a list of "Related Topics," as well as a list of "References," making the volume indispensable for the newcomer and experienced researcher alike.

 

Contents

List of Figures
Consciousness Personal Identity and Immortality
Consciousness in Western Philosophy
Materialism
Dualism
The Radical Wing
Consciousness Free Will and Moral Responsibility
Consciousness and the MindBody Problem in Indian
Consciousness and Intentionality
Consciousness and Conceptualism
Consciousness Time and Memory
Consciousness and Action
Consciousness and Emotion
Multisensory Consciousness and Synesthesia
Consciousness and Psychopathology
PostComatose Disorders of Consciousness

Representational Theories of Consciousness
The Global Workspace Theory
Integrated Information Theory
The Multiple Drafts Model
The Intermediate Level Theory of Consciousness
The Attention Schema Theory of Consciousness
Biological Naturalism and Biological Realism
Sensorimotor and Enactive Approaches to Consciousness
Quantum Theories of Consciousness
The Neural Correlates of Consciousness
Consciousness and Attention
The Unity of Consciousness
The Biological Evolution of Consciousness
Animal Consciousness
Robot Consciousness
From SelfSimulation to
Can We Experience
Consciousness and End of Life Ethical Issues
Consciousness and Experimental Philosophy
Index
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About the author (2018)

Rocco J. Gennaro is Professor of Philosophy and Chairperson of the Philosophy Department at the University of Southern Indiana. Two of his more recent books are The Consciousness Paradox: Consciousness, Concepts, and Higher-Order Thoughts (2012) and Consciousness (Routledge, 2017). He is also editor of Disturbed Consciousness: New Essays on Psychopathology and Theories of Consciousness (2015).

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