Mind in Life: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind

Science News,  June 9, 2007  

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MIND IN LIFE: Biology, Phenomenology, and the Sciences of Mind

EVAN THOMPSON

Scientists and philosophers have long pondered the nature of the mind. Thompson, a professor of philosophy, provides an overview of research on the topic. He reviews cognitive science and its simplistic view of the mind and then describes the philosophical roots of phenomenology, the study of human self-awareness. Next, he explains autopoiesis, or the self-producing organization of living things. Emerging from this tangle is the current understanding of the experience of consciousness and of the ability to willfully interact with the environment. Thompson argues that conscious experience is a product of not merely the brain but of the brain and body as a whole. Belknap Harvard, 2007, 543 p., hardcover, $45.00.

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