Consciousness in Western Philosophy
March 15, 2018 DOI: 10.4324/9781315676982-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Citations | 21 |
| Key points | Argues that although the search for consciousness in Ancient Greek philosophical texts may be a fool's errand, some overlapping concepts and concerns can be identified that, with necessary translation, belong to the family of issues related to consciousness. The paper also discusses naturalized theories of consciousness, hylomorphic explanations of mind and perception, and Leibniz's representational theory of mind and consciousness in relation to contemporary representational theories. |
Abstract
The search for consciousness in Ancient Greek philosophical texts may well be a fool&s;s errand. However, other scholars have noted some overlapping concepts or concerns in Ancient Greek texts, which—with the necessary translation—can be seen as in the family of issues related to consciousness. A naturalized theory is a theory that has no irresolvable "mysteries"—mysteries like those presented by phenomenal consciousness or subjective experience. Tracing the development of consciousness in Western philosophy is complicated by the fact that the term consciousness was not coined until the seventeenth century. Phenomenal consciousness is typically described as the "what it&s;s like" aspect of experience, the first-personal aspect of experience. Minds, perception, and consciousness are explained in an integrated way with the whole of nature in a hylomorphic framework. G. Leibniz presents a representational theory of mind and consciousness, which bears interesting relations to contemporary discussions of representational theories.