Name: Conversations on consciousness
ISBN: 9780195179583

Conversations on consciousness

In Conversations on Consciousness, Susan Blackmore interviews some of the great minds of our time, a who's who of eminent thinkers, all of whom have devoted much of their lives to understanding the concept of consciousness. The interviewees, ranging from major philosophers to renowned scientists, talk candidly with Blackmore about some of the key philosophical issues confronting us in a series of conversations that are revealing, insightful, and stimulating. They ruminate on the nature of consciousness (is it something apart from the brain?) and discuss if it is even possible to understand the human mind. Some of these thinkers say no, but most believe that we will pierce the mystery surrounding consciousness, and that neuroscience will provide the key. Blackmore goes beyond the issue of consciousness to ask other intriguing questions: Is there free will? (A question which yields many conflicted replies, with most saying yes and no.) If not, how does this effect the way you live your life; and more broadly, how has your work changed the way you live? Paired with an introduction and extensive glossary that provide helpful background information, these provocative conversations illuminate how some of the greatest minds tackle some of the most difficult questions about human nature.

What Hacker News says

jsuthFeb 2023

Consciousness: An Introduction by Susan Blackmore is exactly what you're looking for. Make sure you get the latest edition.

https://www.amazon.com/Consciousness-Emily-Troscianko-Susan-...

She has another book called Conversations on Consciousness that's basically transcribed interviews with prominent figures that's also worth checking out.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/254499.Conversations_on_...

thread

eschulteMay 2011

Happy to share. Metzinger takes a hard line on strong materialism and against the existence of the self. For a more general overview of current strains of scientific thoughts on consciousness I'd recommend _Conversations on Consciousness_ [1] which interviews leading researchers who are representative of the varied approaches to the field.

[1] http://www.amazon.com/Conversations-Consciousness-Minds-Thin...

thread

bumbyFeb 2022

I believe Chalmers perspective is that consciousness is fundamental and irreducible. To relate it to your example, he says

"Nobody tries to explain, say space or time in terms of something more basic than space or time. It's the same as mass or charge. They end up taking something as fundamental"[1]

In contrast, the easy problem IS trying to explain consciousness in terms of something more fundamental, like charges or energy moving across neuron synapses. The fact that it is reducible means it may be explained objectively by science, which make it the "easier" problem

[1] Conversations on Consciousness by Susan Blackmore

thread

sizzleFeb 2014

"Consciousness is data. [...] The data of consciousness--the way things seem to me right now--are data too. I am having a certain sensation of red with a certain shape right now. I am hearing a certain quality in the tone of my voice and so on. This is undeniable as the objective data in the world of science. And science ought to be dealing with that."

David Chalmers excerpt- Conversations on Consciousness by Susan Blackmore.

thread