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Phenomenal Qualities

Sense, Perception, and Consciousness

Edited by Paul Coates and Sam Coleman

Original work on a hot topic
Intersects with key debates in mind, metaphysics, and philosophy of science
Includes essays from several of the world's leading philosophers working in the field
Offers a distinctive contribution to the scholarship

Phenomenal Qualities

Sense, Perception, and Consciousness

Edited by Paul Coates and Sam Coleman

Description

What are phenomenal qualities, the qualities of conscious experiences? How do the phenomenal aspects of conscious experiences relate to brain processes? To what extent do experiences represent the things around us, or the states of our own bodies? Are phenomenal qualities subjective, belonging to inner mental episodes of some kind, and merely dependent on our brains? Or should they be seen as objective, belonging in some way to the physical things in the world around us? Are they physical properties at all? The problematic nature of phenomenal qualities makes it hard to understand how the mind is related to the physical world. There is no settled view about these issues, which concern some of the deepest, and most central, problems in philosophy.
Fourteen original papers, written by a team of distinguished philosophers and psychologists and set in context by a full introduction, explore the ways in which phenomenal qualities fit in with our understanding of mind and reality.
The topics covered include: phenomenal concepts, the relation of sensory qualities to the modalities, the limits of current theories about physical matter; problems about the nature of perceptual experience, projectivism, and the extent to which perception is direct; non-conceptual content, the representational nature of pain experience, and the phenomenology of thought; and issues relating to empirical work on synaesthesia, psychological theories of attention, and prospects for unifying the phenomenal array with neurophysiological accounts of the brain. This volume offers an indispensable resource for anyone wishing to understand the nature of conscious experience.

Phenomenal Qualities

Sense, Perception, and Consciousness

Edited by Paul Coates and Sam Coleman

Introduction
The Nature of Phenomenal Qualities, Paul Coates and Sam Coleman
Section I. The Ontology of Phenomenal Qualities
1. Quality Spaces and Sensory Modalities, David Rosenthal
2. Neuro-Cosmology, Sam Coleman
3. Phenomenal Qualities: What They Must Be, and What They Cannot Be, Howard Robinson
4. Real Acquaintance and Physicalism, Philip Goff
Section II. Perception and Phenomenal Qualities
5. Moore's Dilemma, Michael Martin
6. Projection, Revelation, and the Function of Perception, Paul Coates
7. Real Direct Realism: Reflections on Perception, Galen Strawson
Section III. The Kinds and Character of Phenomenal Qualities
8. A New Argument for Realism from Perceptual Content, E. J. Lowe
9. Can We Really See a Million Colours?, David Papineau
10. The Nature of Pain and the Appearance/Reality Distinction, Michael Tye
11. The Life of the Mind, Michelle Montague
Section IV. Phenomenal Qualities and Empirical Findings
12. A Function-Centered Taxonomy of Visual Attention, Ronald A. Rensink
13. Can Sounds be Red? A New Account of Synaesthesia as Enriched Experience, Ophelia Deroy
14. Technical Issues in Naive Sense-Datum Theory, John M. Nicholas

Phenomenal Qualities

Sense, Perception, and Consciousness

Edited by Paul Coates and Sam Coleman

Author Information

Paul Coates, University of Hertfordshire, Sam Coleman, University of Hertfordshire

Paul Coates is Professor Emeritus of philosophy at the University of Hertfordshire, where he was head of department. He has served as president of the Mind Association, and has been the recipient of several research awards, most recently from the Arts and Humanities Research Council to lead a major project exploring the nature of Phenomenal Qualities. He is the author of The Metaphysics of Perception, and has published papers on rule-following, perception, and the philosophy of Wilfrid Sellars.

Sam Coleman is Senior Lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire. He has published papers in the philosophy of mind and continues to work on matters around consciousness, content and ontology.

Contributors:

Paul Coates, University of Hertfordshire
Sam Coleman, University of Hertfordshire
Ophelia Deroy, School of Advanced Study, London University
Philip Goff, Liverpool University
E. J. Lowe, formerly Durham University
Michael Martin, University College, London / University of California, Berkeley
Michelle Montague, University of Texas at Austin
John M. Nicholas, Western University, Ontario
David Papineau, King's College, London / The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Ronald A. Rensink, University of British Columbia
Howard Robinson, Central European University, Budapest / Rutgers Center for the Philosophy of Religion, New Brunswick / Fordham University, New York
David Rosenthal, The Graduate Center, City University of New York
Galen Strawson, University of Texas at Austin
Michael Tye, University of Texas at Austin

Phenomenal Qualities

Sense, Perception, and Consciousness

Edited by Paul Coates and Sam Coleman

Reviews and Awards

"...the volume contains several valuable essays and will be a fruitful read for any philosopher interested in the ontology of phenomenal qualities and their role in perception." -- Giovanni Merlo, The Philosophical Quarterly

"This volume competently covers a wide range of philosophical and empirical issues pertaining to phenomenal qualities...philosophers of mind, especially those interested in the metaphysics of phenomenal consciousness, will find much of interest in this volume." -- Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

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Phenomenal Qualities

Sense, Perception, and Consciousness

Edited by Paul Coates and Sam Coleman

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Phenomenal Qualities

Sense, Perception, and Consciousness

Edited by Paul Coates and Sam Coleman

Description

Phenomenal Qualities

Sense, Perception, and Consciousness

Edited by Paul Coates and Sam Coleman

Table of Contents

Phenomenal Qualities

Sense, Perception, and Consciousness

Edited by Paul Coates and Sam Coleman

Author Information

Contributors:

Phenomenal Qualities

Sense, Perception, and Consciousness

Edited by Paul Coates and Sam Coleman

Reviews and Awards

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Phenomenal Qualities

Sense, Perception, and Consciousness

Edited by Paul Coates and Sam Coleman

Also Available As:

Also Available In:

Connect with OUP

Phenomenal Qualities

Sense, Perception, and Consciousness

Edited by Paul Coates and Sam Coleman

Description

Phenomenal Qualities

Sense, Perception, and Consciousness

Edited by Paul Coates and Sam Coleman

Table of Contents

Phenomenal Qualities

Sense, Perception, and Consciousness

Edited by Paul Coates and Sam Coleman

Author Information

Contributors:

Phenomenal Qualities

Sense, Perception, and Consciousness

Edited by Paul Coates and Sam Coleman

Reviews and Awards

Related Categories

Connect with OUP