Consciousness and the Origins of Thought

This book offers a comprehensive and broadly rationalist theory of the mind which continually tests itself against experimental results and clinical data. Taking issue with Empiricists who believe that all knowledge arises from experience and that perception is a non-cognitive state, Norton Nelkin argues that perception is cognitive, constructive and proposition-like. Further, as against Externalists who believe that our thoughts have meaning only insofar as they advert to the world outside our minds, he argues that meaning is determined ‘in the head’. Finally, he offers an account of how we acquire some of our most basic concepts, including the concept of the self and that of other minds.

• Strong interdisciplinary appeal, to empirical scientists as well as philosophers of mind • Unified treatment of a large number of traditional philosophical issues • Tests theory against clinical data and discusses empirical psychological research (e.g. on blindsight, concept acquisition, pain)

Preface; Introduction; Part I. Phenomena: 1. The senses; 2. Phenomena; 3. Pains; 4. Phenomena reconsidered; Part II. Consciousness: 5. Consciousness: preliminaries; 6. Consciousness: a theory; 7. Consciousness: an appendix; Part III. Apperception: 8. Apperception; 9. Selves; 10. Things; 11. Will; Concluding remarks; Bibliography; Index.