Book Review: Consciousness: readings in mind and language

This is an excellent book which I have no hesitation in recommending to anyone interested in the still perplexing study of consciousness either from the focus of psychology or that of philosophy.

Following an outstandingly clear and informative introduction, the book presents five psychological and eight philosophical papers dealing with differing aspects and views of particular studies, issues, debates and complexities associated with consciousness studies. These essays are written by various recognised experts in the field and, as one might expect, are typically highly opinionated, critical of competing views, penetrating, entertaining and, always, challenging.

Stand-out papers that I am certain will interest many readers of this Journal include a fascinating critical account of the notion of the unconscious by Eyal Reingold and Philip Merikle, Colleen Kelley and Larry Jacoby's constructivist account of memory, and Keith Oatley's interpretation of Freud's Case of Dora as an argument for psycho-analysis as a cognitive psychology of intention.

The ongoing debate between physicalist and non-physicalist views of consciousness is represented in two oppositional papers, by Joseph Levine and Colin McGinn respectively, which read together, succeed in bringing to the fore many of the central philosophical issues in contemporary debate.

Finally, two papers that raise phenomenological concerns in a highly direct, constructively critical fashion are David Rosenthal's 'Thinking that one Thinks' and Norton Nelkin's 'The connection between intentionality and consciousness'.

If, like me, you can't wait to get your quarterly fix of the Journal of Consciousness Studies, or if you would like to 'test the waters' and get a first class overview of the current debates in consciousness, this is essential reading.

Ernesto Spinelli