Synopses & Reviews
Tim Bayne examines the idea that a human being can have only a single stream of consciousness at any one point in time. He draws on philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience, weaving together detailed conceptual analysis with close attention to empirical findings, in defence of the unity of consciousness. In the first part of the volume Bayne develops an account of what it means to say that consciousness is unified. In the second part of the volume this account is applied to a variety of syndromes--drawn from both normal and pathological forms of experience--in which the unity of consciousness is said to breakdown. Bayne argues that the unity of consciousness remains intact in each of these syndromes. In the final section he explores the implications of the unity of consciousness for theories of consciousness, for the sense of embodiment, and for accounts of the self. In one of the most comprehensive examinations of the topic available, The Unity of Consciousness draws on a wide range of findings within philosophy, clinical psychology, and cognitive neuroscience in constructing an account of the unity of consciousness that is both conceptually sophisticated and scientifically informed.
Review
"Tim Bayne's book is a thorough, well documented, and subtle piece of argument in favor of the Unity of Consciousness Thesis." --Metapsychology
Synopsis
In The Unity of Consciousness Tim Bayne draws on philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience in defence of the claim that consciousness is unified. In the first part of the book Bayne develops an account of what it means to say that consciousness is unified. Part II applies this account to a variety of cases - drawn from both normal and pathological forms of experience - in which the unity of consciousness is said to break down. Bayne argues that the unity of consciousness remains intact in each of these cases. Part III explores the implications of the unity of consciousness for theories of consciousness, for the sense of embodiment, and for accounts of the self. In one of the most comprehensive examinations of the topic available, The Unity of Consciousness draws on a wide range of findings within philosophy and the sciences of the mind to construct an account of the unity of consciousness that is both conceptually sophisticated and scientifically informed.
About the Author
Tim Bayne is a University Lecturer in Philosophy of Mind at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St. Catherine's College. His main interests lie in the philosophy of psychology, with a particular focus on consciousness.
Table of Contents
1. The Phenomenal Field
2. Phenomenal unity: Mereology
3. Phenomenal unity: Closure
4. Motivating the Unity Thesis
5. How to Evaluate the Unity Thesis
6. Fragments of consciousness
7. Anosognosia, Schizophrenia, and Multiplicity
8. Hypnosis
9. The Split-brain Syndrome
10. The Quilt of Consciousness
11. The Body
12. The Self