This publication presents an original thesis regarding the nature of experience and cognition’s architecture. Presented as a dialogue between characters Alice and Professor O, it offers commentary reformulating traditional frameworks through a thought experiment engaging diverse readers.
Recommended for: Philosophers, cognitive scientists, and anyone interested in exploring alternative perspectives on the nature of the mind and cognition. This book presents an original and thought-provoking thesis on the relationship between sensory experience and the architecture of the mind, grounded in current trends in cognitive science and philosophy of mind.
You will:
- Gain a deeper understanding of the author’s proposal for rethinking traditional notions of “concept,” “thought,” “communication,” “representation,” “language,” and ultimately, “mind” itself.
- Explore the psychological and philosophical consequences that the author derives from his unconventional perspective.
- Be challenged to reconsider your assumptions about the workings of the human mind and how it gives rise to our cognitive capabilities.
- Engage with the ideas through the format of a philosophical dialogue, which allows for a nuanced and accessible exploration of the complex topics.
- Discover new ways of conceptualizing the relationship between sensory experience and the emergence of higher-order cognition.
- Gain insights that may inform ongoing debates in the fields of philosophy of mind, cognitive science, and the nature of human consciousness.
Detailed Overview
The work contends sensory experience logically precedes and gives rise to higher cognitive functions like conceptual thought, upending common presumptions. Through Socratic dialogue exchanges, characters consider implications for abstract conceptualization, symbolic representation, linguistic capacities and subjective experience from alternative perspectives.
The narrative inquiry format allows readers to actively deliberate complex ideas in discussion. While unconventionally structured without explicit thesis statements, the work traces a stepwise development and refinement of ideas through dramatized scholarly interactions.
By creatively framing theoretical insights through character discussions rather than direct exposition, the monograph invites multidisciplinary philosophical consideration from multiple viewpoints. Its innovative presentation belies meticulous scholarship and theoretical rigor through conceptual explorations of experience-cognition relationships.
The publication aims to offer original contributions to cognitive science, while challenging ossified notions and stimulating new ways of thinking, through its reformulation of fundamental issues regarding mind and experience founded upon contemporary research in an engaging narrative format.
Citation
Vilarroya, O. (2002). The dissolution of mind: A fable of how experience gives rise to cognition. Brill. https://brill.com/display/title/31148
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