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Philosophy

Consciousness: A Natural History

M. Sheets‐Johnstone

2008.2.15Synthesis Philosophica

tlooto Summary

Consciousness arises from matter, but a missing conception exists.

Abstract

Thomas Nagel, in a review of John Searle’s (1992) book, The Rediscovery of the Mind, states that ‘we do not really understand the claim that mental states are states of the brain’. He follows this statement more finely with the remark that, ‘We are still unable to form a conception of how consciousness arises in matter’ (Nagel, 1993, p. 40). The missing conception is, of course, really a missing answer:

Citation format

SHEETS‐JOHNSTONE, M. Consciousness: A natural history. Synthesis Philosophica, 2008, 22: 283–299.