What Stevens’s Poetry Can Offer to Theorists of Consciousness
Charles F. Altieri
Liverpool University Press eBooks September 1, 2023 DOI: 10.3828/liverpool/9781837645145.003.0009 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Wallace Stevens's poetry provides sophisticated accounts of consciousness that compensate for shortfalls in contemporary philosophy of mind, developing three ways of invoking consciousness: descriptive processes of relations, the self-conscious feel of thinking, and the mind's dominance in its acts. |
Abstract
This chapter considers how reading Stevens’s poetry can offer sophisticated accounts of consciousness that make up for shortfalls in contemporary philosophy of mind. The chapter begins by sketching out trends in this area of theory, especially around the influential work of David Chalmers, and the themes of experience, participation, and consciousness of qualitative relations. The chapter then argues that Stevens develops three primary ways of invoking consciousness through extended readings of poems: descriptive processes of relations, the self-conscious feel of thinking, and finally ways in which the mind finds dominance in its acts.