| The Mysterious Flame: Conscious Minds in a Material World Contributor(s): McGinn, Colin (Author) |
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ISBN: 0465014232 ISBN-13: 9780465014231 Publisher: Basic Books OUR PRICE: $19.79 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: April 2000 Annotation: In recent years the nature of consciousness -- our immediately known experiences -- has taken its place as the most profound problem that science faces. Now in this brilliant and thoroughly accessible new book Colin McGinn takes a provocative position on this perplexing problem. Arguing that we can never truly "know" consciousness -- that the human intellect is simply not equipped to unravel this mystery -- he demonstrates that accepting this limitation in fact opens up a whole new field of investigation. In elegant prose, McGinn explores the implications of this Mysterian position -- such as the new value it gives to the power of dreams and introspection -- and challenges the reader with intriguing questions about the very nature of our minds and brains. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Philosophy | Mind & Body - Science | Life Sciences - Anatomy & Physiology |
| Dewey: 126 |
| Lexile Measure: 1130 |
| Physical Information: 0.57" H x 5.36" W x 7.99" (0.59 lbs) 256 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Is consciousness nothing more than brain tissue, as Daniel Dennett argues in his best-selling Consciousness Explained ? Or, as others claim, is it a fundamental reality like space, time, and matter? In recent years the nature of consciousness -- our immediately known experiences -- has taken its place as the most profound problem that science faces. Now in this brilliant and thoroughly accessible new book Colin McGinn takes a provocative position on this perplexing problem. Arguing that we can never truly know consciousness -- that the human intellect is simply not equipped to unravel this mystery -- he demonstrates that accepting this limitation in fact opens up a whole new field of investigation. Indeed, he asserts, consciousness is the best place from which to begin to understand the internal make-up of human intelligence, to investigate our cognitive strengths and weaknesses, and to explore the possibility of machine minds. In elegant prose, McGinn explores the implications of this Mysterian position -- such as the new value it gives to the power of dreams and of introspection -- and challenges the reader with intriguing questions about the very nature of our minds and brains. |