The View from Within: First-Person Approaches to the Study of Consciousness

by Francisco J. Varela (Editor), Jonathan Shear (Editor)

Over the last decade there has been a resurgence of interest in the scientific study of consciousness ― an area that has been largely ignored since the time of William James. This renaissance has primarily been stimulated by developments in PET, fMRI and other brain-scanning technology that enable scientists to pinpoint the neural correlates of conscious experience with ever-increasing accuracy. However, the study of conscious experience itself has not kept pace with these advances in third-person methodologies. If anything, the standard approaches to examining the 'view from within' involve little more than cataloging its readily accessible components. Thus the study of lived subjective experience is still at the level of Aristotelian science. This has led many to deny that there could possibly be such a thing as a truly scientific study of conscious experience, or at least to can one be objective about the subjective? Drawing on a wide range of approaches ― from phenomenology to meditation ― THE VIEW FROM WITHIN examines the possibility of a disciplined approach to the study of subjective states. The focus is on the practical issues involved.

Genres: Philosophy, Psychology, Nonfiction, Science

313 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1999

About the author

Francisco Varela was a biologist, philosopher, and neuroscientist who, together with his teacher Humberto Maturana, is best known for introducing the concept of *autopoiesis to biology*, for bringing phenomenology and first-person approaches to biology and neuroscience, and for co-founding the Mind and Life Institute to promote dialog between science and Buddhism.

Reviews

[Ihor Kolesnyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Піонерська праця у своїй царині. Тут можна побачити як увага в США повертається знову до феноменології (континентальної філософії!). Варела у русі за діалог між нейронаукою та гуманітаристикою (у цьому кейсі феноменологією та психологією) спровокував появу цієї колективної монографії.

Не три, а чотири важливі складові монографії: 1) про інтроспекцію у психології; 2) про феноменологічний метод; 3) про буддійську і не лише буддійську філософію; 4) коментарі, критики, рецензії читачів цієї книги. Остання частина дуже і дуже важлива, бо містить голоси тих, хто не погоджується із авторами книги.

[John]

nonfiction,philosophy,psychology

[Elizabeth]

get from ILL