Description
Book SynopsisThe degree to which Cognitive Science can aspire to be the Science of the Mind is an ongoing debate. This highly influential book, published as a Second Edition, proposes a new approach to issues of the mind and of consciousness, drawing together themes from Philosophy right through to Artificial Intelligence.
Proposing an integrated approach to the science of mind, the book has been revised to meet the newest developments of its rapidly changing field. The author incorporates ideas from across the board into a new theory of consciousness, selfhood and cognitive development.
The first part presents clear introductions to the disciplines that are traditionally seen to constitute Cognitive Science - Philosophy, Psychology, Linguistics, Neuroscience, Artificial Intelligence and Ethnology. The second section focuses on the nature of symbol systems, detailing theories of consciousness and selfhood.
The two strands are woven together into a new theory of cognition and its development, and the author concludes that a science that fully attempts to treat cognition must remain au fait with the findings from all other approaches to the study of the mind, from the purely behaviourist to the purely experiential. As the Second Edition is published, The Search for Mind is unquestionably among the most acclaimed accounts of the area written by a single author.
Trade Review'The emerging science of Consciousness needs to pay attention to the voice in order to keep alive the hope of humanizing modern science.'
-- Jacob Needleman - Professor of Philosophy, San Francisco State
'These are extremely important and provocative theses. They address the foundations of the field and ... his claims merit careful attention.'
-- Mark Bickhard * Minds and Machines *
'A brilliant exploration of consciousness, mind and self.'
-- Nadine Lucas & Jean-Baptiste Berthelin * Artificial Intelligence Review *
'Wonderful ... delightful ... sophisticated. The philosophical discussion and critique is thorough ... it is hard to find another volume in which the points of view are handled so clearly.'
-- Karl Pribram - Professor Emeritus Stanford University
'Written in a brilliant and and exciting style ... its main merit is to draw the attention of cognitive scientists to non-standard issues in current CS.'
-- A. Greco * Philosophical Psychology *
Table of ContentsPreface (1)
Introduction (2)
- The Constituent Disciplines of Cognitive Science
- Philosophical Epistemology (10)
- Psychology (50)
- Linguistics (94)
- Neuroscience (142)
- Artificial Intelligence (179)
- Ethology and Ethnoscience (212)
- A New Foundation for Cognitive Science
- Symbol Systems (221)
- Consciousness and Selfhood (228)
- Cognitive Science and the Search for Mind (253)
Bibliography (262)
Author Index (275)
Subject Index (277)
