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(as of Feb 20, 2025 06:07:33 UTC – Details)
How is life related to the mind? The question has long confounded philosophers and scientists, and it is this so-called explanatory gap between biological life and consciousness that Evan Thompson explores in Mind in Life.
Thompson draws upon sources as diverse as molecular biology, evolutionary theory, artificial life, complex systems theory, neuroscience, psychology, Continental Phenomenology, and analytic philosophy to argue that mind and life are more continuous than has previously been accepted, and that current explanations do not adequately address the myriad facets of the biology and phenomenology of mind. Where there is life, Thompson argues, there is mind: life and mind share common principles of self-organization, and the self-organizing features of mind are an enriched version of the self-organizing features of life. Rather than trying to close the explanatory gap, Thompson marshals philosophical and scientific analyses to bring unprecedented insight to the nature of life and consciousness. This synthesis of phenomenology and biology helps make Mind in Life a vital and long-awaited addition to his landmark volume The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience (coauthored with Eleanor Rosch and Francisco Varela).
Endlessly interesting and accessible, Mind in Life is a groundbreaking addition to the fields of the theory of the mind, life science, and phenomenology.
Publisher : Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press; Illustrated edition (September 30, 2010)
Language : English
Paperback : 568 pages
ISBN-10 : 0674057511
ISBN-13 : 978-0674057517
Item Weight : 1.8 pounds
Dimensions : 6.12 x 1.3 x 9.25 inches
Customers say
Customers find the book well-researched and informative. They describe it as a thorough review and synthesis of the literature on the subject, and a valuable resource for scholars interested in the nature of mind. The writing is described as superb and pleasant to read, with a powerful presentation of a somewhat limited thesis.
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