
Questioning Consciousness
The interplay of imagery, cognition, and emotion in the human brain
Ralph D. Ellis(Author)
John Benjamins Publishing Co
Published on 29. June 1995
Book
Paperback/Softback
262 pages
978-90-272-5122-0 (ISBN)
Description
Questioning Consciousness brings together neuroscientific, psychological and phenomenological research, combining in a readable format recent developments in image research and neurology. It reassesses the mind-body relation and research on 'mental models', abstract concept formation, and acquisition of logical and apparently 'imageless' inference skills. It is argued that to be conscious of an object is essentially to imagine in a habituated way what would happen if we were to perform certain actions in relation to the object; and that mental images fit together to build up abstract concepts. This analysis shows why conscious information processing is so structurally different from - yet interrelated with - non-conscious processing, and how mind and body interrelate as a process to its substratum in the way that a sound wave relates to the medium through which it passes. (Series A)
Reviews / Votes
A considerable potential contribution to the development of consciousness studies and cognitive science, showing us a possible escape route from the dead-end view of cognition as mechanical, unconscious computation with which spurious and quite ineffable 'qualia' just happen to be somehow associated. Not only does the book provide a promising new general theoretical direction, but there are also many points of detail that could be usefully tested, explored, clarified, and reworked by experimental as well as theoretical research. -- Nigel J.T. Thomas, California State University, in Psyche 3(4), October 1997More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Amsterdam
Netherlands
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 160 mm
Weight
470 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-272-5122-0 (9789027251220)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Ralph D. Ellis
Questioning Consciousness
The interplay of imagery, cognition, and emotion in the human brain
E-Book
06/1995
1st Edition
John Benjamins Publishing Company
€84.49
Available for download
Person
Content
1. Introduction: Differences between Conscious and Non-Conscious Processing: Why they make a Difference; 2. 1. The Relation between Imaginary and Perceptual Consciousness; 3. 2. From Images to Concepts; 4. 3. Images, Logic, and Mental Development; 5. 4. the Ontological Status of Consciousness; 6. 5. The Priority of Process over Substratum:Consciousness as an Organic Phenomenon; 7. 6. Memory, Emotion and Symbolization; 8. Conclusion: The Centrality of Subjunctives; 9. References; 10. Index