The Unity of Consciousness

by Tim Bayne

Overview

In The Unity of Consciousness Tim Bayne draws on philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience in defence of the claim that consciousness is unified. In the first part of the book Bayne develops an account of what it means to say that consciousness is unified. Part II applies this account to a variety of cases - drawn from both normal and pathological forms of experience - in which the unity of consciousness is said to break down. Bayne argues that the unity of consciousness remains intact in each of these cases. Part III explores the implications of the unity of consciousness for theories of consciousness, for the sense of embodiment, and for accounts of the self. In one of the most comprehensive examinations of the topic available, The Unity of Consciousness draws on a wide range of findings within philosophy and the sciences of the mind to construct an account of the unity of consciousness that is both conceptually sophisticated and scientifically informed.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199659401
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/17/2012
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	358
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Tim Bayne is a University Lecturer in Philosophy of Mind at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St. Catherine's College. His main interests lie in the philosophy of psychology, with a particular focus on consciousness.

Table of Contents

1. The Phenomenal Field2. Phenomenal unity: Mereology3. Phenomenal unity: Closure4. Motivating the Unity Thesis5. How to Evaluate the Unity Thesis6. Fragments of consciousness7. Anosognosia, Schizophrenia, and Multiplicity8. Hypnosis9. The Split-brain Syndrome10. The Quilt of Consciousness11. The Body12. The Self

Editorial Reviews

"Tim Bayne's book is a thorough, well documented, and subtle piece of argument in favor of the Unity of Consciousness Thesis." —Metapsychology

From the Publisher