The Bodily Nature of Consciousness: Sartre and Contemporary Philosophy of Mind / Edition 1

by Kathleen V. Wider

Overview

In this work, Kathleen V. Wider discusses Jean-Paul Sartre's analysis of consciousness in Being and Nothingness in light of recent work by analytic philosophers, psychologists, and neuroscientists. She brings together phenomenological and scientific understandings of the nature of consciousness and argues that the two approaches can strengthen and suppport each other. Work on consciousness from two very different philosophical traditions—the continental and analytic—contributes to her explanation of the deep-seated intuition that all consciousness is self-consciousness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801485022
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	10/07/1997
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.62(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Kathleen V. Wider is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan'Dearborn.

What People are Saying About This

Hazel E. Barnes

The Bodily Nature of Consciousness is a stunning achievement. Combining an existential-phenomenological approach with her knowledge of recent biological research, Wider argues that self-consciousness is rooted in body-awareness. She has taken a great step in advancing our understanding of the nature of consciousness.

William McBride

Kathleen Wider has few if any peers in her ability to bring strands from analytic philosophy together with an extremely in-depth understanding of the philosophy of Being and Nothingness in order better to understand both the latter's strengths and weaknesses and just what consciousness itself, at least for all of us post-Cartesians, must be.

Editorial Reviews

This book is a product of that all too rare blindness to the boundary separating philosophy into analytic and continental; if not a blindness, then a healthy disregard... Wider's open-mindedness and expansive erudition find their rewards in a treatment of the issues raised that is likely to appeal to any philosophy convinced that an acknowledgement of both first-person and third-person perspectives is necessary for an understanding of mind.

International Journal of Philosophical Studies - Maurice Larkin

This book is a complex and intriguing work. Wider has woven a sustained argument from a wealth of scholarly material drawn from distinct traditions in support of her two interrelated theses: that consciousness is invariably self-consciousness and that the body is the subject of self-consciousness... It certainly challenges students of Sartre to reconsider his notion of human freedom in light of our incarnate nature.

Sartre Studies Interantional - Elizabeth Murray Morelli

A coherent and convincing theory of consciousness.

-- "The Review of Metaphysics"

A thoughtful book.... Wider does a great job of guiding the reader through her theses and presenting clearly written arguments.

-- "Philosophy in Review"

This book is a complex and intriguing work. Wider has woven a sustained argument from a wealth of scholarly material drawn from distinct traditions in support of her two interrelated theses: that consciousness is invariably self-consciousness and that the body is the subject of self-consciousness... It certainly challenges students of Sartre to reconsider his notion of human freedom in light of our incarnate nature.

--Elizabeth Murray Morelli "Sartre Studies Interantional"

This book is a product of that all too rare blindness to the boundary separating philosophy into analytic and continental; if not a blindness, then a healthy disregard... Wider's open-mindedness and expansive erudition find their rewards in a treatment of the issues raised that is likely to appeal to any philosophy convinced that an acknowledgement of both first-person and third-person perspectives is necessary for an understanding of mind.

--Maurice Larkin, University College Dublin "International Journal of Philosophical Studies"

Wider's discussion is coherent, detailed, and fascinating, and her account of recent work on consciousness and embodiment is well informed. A major strength of her book is its clarity, both organizational and conceptual. She writes in a direct and unpretentious style, and presents frequent summaries and reminders of earlier points, so the intricacies of the argument are easy to follow.

--Natika Newton, Suffolk County Community College "Behavior and Philosophy"

From the Publisher

A thoughtful book.... Wider does a great job of guiding the reader through her theses and presenting clearly written arguments.

Philosophy in Review

Wider's discussion is coherent, detailed, and fascinating, and her account of recent work on consciousness and embodiment is well informed. A major strength of her book is its clarity, both organizational and conceptual. She writes in a direct and unpretentious style, and presents frequent summaries and reminders of earlier points, so the intricacies of the argument are easy to follow.

Behavior and Philosophy - Natika Newton

A coherent and convincing theory of consciousness.

The Review of Metaphysics

"The Bodily Nature of Consciousness is a stunning achievement. Combining an existential-phenomenological approach with her knowledge of recent biological research, Wider argues that self-consciousness is rooted in body-awareness. She has taken a great step in advancing our understanding of the nature of consciousness."

Hazel E. Barnes

"Kathleen Wider has few if any peers in her ability to bring strands from analytic philosophy together with an extremely in-depth understanding of the philosophy of Being and Nothingness in order better to understand both the latter's strengths and weaknesses and just what consciousness itself, at least for all of us post-Cartesians, must be."

William McBride