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Do we have introspective access to our own thoughts? Peter Carruthers challenges the consensus that we do: he argues that access to our own thoughts is always interpretive, grounded in perceptual awareness and sensory imagery. He proposes a bold new theory of self-knowledge, with radical implications for understanding of consciousness and agency.
List of contents
- List of Figures and Tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1: Introduction
- 2: The Mental Transparency Assumption
- 3: The ISA Theory: Foundations and Elaborations
- 4: Transparent Sensory Access to Attitudes?
- 5: Transparent Sensory Access to Affect
- 6: Intermediate-Strength Transparent-Access Theories
- 7: Inner Sense Theories
- 8: Mindreading in Mind
- 9: Metacognition and Control
- 10: Dissociation Data
- 11: Self-Interpretation and Confabulation
- 12: Conclusion and Implications
- References
- Index of Names
- Index of Subjects
About the author
Peter Carruthers is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Maryland. He has published widely across different areas of philosophy of mind and cognitive science. His books include The Architecture of the Mind: Massive Modularity and the Flexibility of Thought (Oxford University Press, 2006), Phenomenal Consciousness: A Naturalistic Theory (Cambridge University Press, 2000), and seven co-edited collections of original interdisciplinary essays.
Summary
Do we have introspective access to our own thoughts? Peter Carruthers challenges the consensus that we do: he argues that access to our own thoughts is always interpretive, grounded in perceptual awareness and sensory imagery. He proposes a bold new theory of self-knowledge, with radical implications for understanding of consciousness and agency.
Additional text
Carruthers offers a robust antidote to dominant views about self-Knowledge. In particular, Carruthers bracingly takes aim at any theory of self-knowledge on which we have transparent introspective access even to our current propositional attitudes and affective states. ... a challenging and provocative book, informed by an extraordinary knowledge of scientific psychology and cognitive science.
