Investigating Phenomenal Consciousness

Investigating phenomenal consciousness requires a precise understanding of its phenomena and general truths about its nature, which can be achieved through first-person, second-person, and third-person methods. This book introduces creative applications of these methods to explore the relationship between consciousness and the brain, examine or change consciousness itself, and understand how social, clinical, and therapeutic contexts influence it. It also provides maps of the consciousness studies field to clarify the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches and demonstrate the interplay between methodology and epistemology, placing diverse methods into an interdisciplinary context.

Study at a glance

Abstract

How can one investigate phenomenal consciousness? As in other areas of science, the investigation of consciousness aims for a more precise knowledge of its phenomena, and the discovery of general truths about their nature. This requires the development of appropriate first-person, second-person and third-person methods. This book introduces some of the creative ways in which these methods can be applied to different purposes, e.g. to understanding the relation of consciousness to brain, to examining or changing consciousness as such, and to understanding the way consciousness is influenced by social, clinical and therapeutic contexts. To clarify the strengths and weaknesses of different methods and to demonstrate the interplay of methodology and epistemology, the book also suggests a number of “maps” of the consciousness studies terrain that place different approaches to the study of consciousness into a broader, interdisciplinary context. (Series A).