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Consciousness from Descartes to Ayer

  • Book
  • © 2021

Overview

Authors:
  1. David Berman

    1. Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

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  • Examines consciousness within the history of philosophy, from Descartes to Ayer

  • Contends that all humans have one of two basic forms of consciousness

  • Connect the book's main thesis with recent developments in genetics and anthropology

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Table of contents (4 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
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  2. The Theory of 2 Consciousnesses

    • David Berman
    Pages 1-28

  3. Berkeley and Toland: Irish Philosophy, Past and Future

    • David Berman
    Pages 29-45

  4. Hume’s Artful Lying, Monistic Naturalism and Retraction on Personal Identity

    • David Berman
    Pages 47-62

  5. A. J. Ayer: The Complete Monist

    • David Berman
    Pages 63-72

  6. Back Matter

    Pages 73-84
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Keywords

About this book


The title is meant to indicate that consciousness is being examined largely within the history of philosophy, and within the period of time from Descartes to Ayer. 

Investigators aiming to understand consciousness and minds usually try to take account of all individual human minds, so as to have the most data for  the most encompassing induction.  The problem with that approach is that because of the vastness of the data, its results tend to be vague, lacking the specificity of studies of individuals.  On the other hand, the problem with studies of individuals is that they cannot guarantee generality, as the opposing method can.  

This book's distinctive approach aims at a middle way, getting the best of the two opposing methods by drawing its data from the history of philosophy, especially the history of the great philosophers.


Reviews

“For anyone interested in Irish thought in the long eighteenth century, David Berman’s writing has a foundational significance. His work on Berkeley forms a substantial part of that continuum of Trinity scholarship that seems organically to connect us to the original source itself. … Berman provides a superb summary of Toland’s thought in its overall, organic, development.” (Ian Leask, Eighteenth-Century Ireland, Vol. 37 (1), 2022)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    David Berman

About the author

David Berman is Emeritus Fellow and Professor of Philosophy, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Consciousness from Descartes to Ayer

  • Authors: David Berman

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80921-8

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-80920-1Published: 24 August 2021

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-80921-8Published: 23 August 2021

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XI, 84

  • Topics: Philosophy of Mind, History of Philosophy

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