The Varieties of Consciousness

by Uriah Kriegel

Overview

Recent work on consciousness has featured a number of debates on the existence and character of controversial types of phenomenal experience. Perhaps the best-known is the debate over the existence of a sui generis, irreducible cognitive phenomenology, a phenomenology proper to thought. Another concerns the existence of a sui generis phenomenology of agency. Such debates bring up a more general question: how many types of sui generis, irreducible, basic, primitive phenomenology do we have to posit to just be able to describe the stream of consciousness? This book offers a first general attempt to answer this question in contemporary philosophy. It develops a unified framework for systematically addressing this question and applies it to six controversial types of phenomenal experience, namely, those associated with thought and judgment, will and agency, pure apprehension, emotion, moral thought and experience, and the experience of freedom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190945985
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/31/2018
Series:	Philosophy of Mind Series
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	298
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 6.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Uriah Kriegel is a research director at the Jean Nicod Institute in Paris. He is the author of Subjective Consciousness: A Self-Representational Theory (OUP, 2011) and The Sources of Intentionality (OUP, 2011), as well as the editor of a dozen collections.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Phenomenal Primitives
1. Cognitive Phenomenology
2. Conative Phenomenology
3. The Phenomenology of Entertaining
4. Emotional Phenomenology
5. Moral Phenomenology
6. Conclusion: The Structure of the Phenomenal Realm
Appendix. The Phenomenology of Freedom
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

"an outstanding contribution to the philosophy of human being" — Robert Zaborowski, Metapsychology Online Reviews

"What general forms of experience—perceptual, cognitive, conative, emotional, and so on—are primitive and irreducible to others? How should the basic varieties of consciousness be characterized and distinguished? These daunting questions provide Kriegel with a unifying framework in which to address a variety of fascinating topics, often disparately considered—the nature of belief and desire, commitment (moral and otherwise), emotion, motivation, imagination and the experience of freedom. One's philosophy of consciousness will be invigorated and enlarged by engaging with Kriegel's lucidly argued, forthright, and fearless treatment of these issues, foundational for understanding mind, knowledge and morals."
— Charles Siewert, Rice University

"Deftly combining analytic rigor with sustained, careful attention to phenomenology, The Varieties of Consciousness develops and defends a systematic, nuanced account of the internal structure of phenomenal experience. The book's framing objective is to identify the basic, irreducible types of phenomenology, those that jointly determine the totality of phenomenal experience in all its richness. But it also makes important contributions to an impressive array of ancillary topics, including philosophical methodology, the theory of emotions, and the debate over cognitivism about ethics. It is required reading for those working in the philosophy of mind, and will also be of interest to specialists in moral psychology and epistemology."
—Brie Gertler, University of Virginia

"...this book accessible to a wide range of readers...his book offers a wealth of clear explanations, important arguments, useful insights, and models for how to approach phenomenological controversies" — Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Online

...one can summarize the book by saying that it offers readers-in particular philosophers working on the philosophy of mind, consciousness studies, phenomenology, and agency theory-the resources required to develop a richly textured account of humans' phenomenal experiences...Highly recommended." — Choice

From the Publisher