Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle Reading App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Apple
Android
Windows Phone
Android
To get the free app, enter your email address or mobile phone number.
$62.54
FREE Shipping.
Only 8 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Gift-wrap available.
Frequently Bought Together
{"currencyCode":"USD","itemData":[{"priceBreaksMAP":null,"buyingPrice":62.54,"ASIN":"0199739099","moqNum":1,"isPreorder":0},{"priceBreaksMAP":null,"buyingPrice":15.41,"ASIN":"0674013824","moqNum":1,"isPreorder":0}],"shippingId":"0199739099::YqIAEIxr99XU6H1fSt%2B0FiPtIfQOfZfpmMYADDp4faGi8BMYm7SSFUlVUzbBt%2BkEA1cIKqLvK02%2B%2FxvGpp13jqUgv5e1WYtA2Go4jACPw8w3s9j3eyoWvw%3D%3D,0674013824::8%2BW8NtB%2FJJ7VuXrcXgFy68LqxjVuFFnVNBLQREZ4Ojyzr%2FSpriTWYjSf7OE5ca3WFOtMvLhjhQoSztJ6%2BMGY1UograiyRONclUhTFkChm0A%3D","sprites":{"addToWishlist":["wl_one","wl_two","wl_three"],"addToCart":["s_addToCart","s_addBothToCart","s_add3ToCart"],"preorder":["s_preorderThis","s_preorderBoth","s_preorderAll3"]},"shippingDetails":{"xy":"same"},"tags":["x","y","z","w"],"strings":{"addToWishlist":["Add to Wish List","Add both to Wish List","Add all three to Wish List","Add all four to Wish List"],"addToCart":["Add to Cart","Add both to Cart","Add all three to Cart","Add all four to Cart"],"showDetailsDefault":"Show availability and shipping details","shippingError":"An error occurred, please try again","hideDetailsDefault":"Hide availability and shipping details","priceLabel":["Price:","Price for both:","Price for all three:","Price For All Four:"],"preorder":["Pre-order this item","Pre-order both items","Pre-order all three items","Pre-order all four items"]}}
This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
Best Books of the Month
Want to know our Editors' picks for the best books of the month? Browse Best Books of the Month, featuring our favorite new books in more than a dozen categories.
Product Details
Paperback: 540 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press; 2 edition (February 7, 2011)
I am somewhat astonished at the negative reviews, and must strongly disagree with the rather random issues from reviewers.
I have taught a course in consciousness at the undergraduate level a number of times, and the topic has been of longstanding interest. To be very clear: there is no text comparable to this. Prior to her first edition (2005), the only option was to collect primary readings and book chapters.
Blackmore does a *great* job pointing out the fundamental issues with consciousness without being too dry or clinical about it. She also describes well the major players in philosophy, psychology, etc. She herself is well integrated into the research and has a keen skeptical mind -- she gives fair treatment to all the right modern viewpoints.
If you want a general overview of the topic of consciousness, this is an excellent text to have. The topic draws many, many different perspectives (from neuroscientists to a wide array of philosophers to psychologists to quantum physicists), and there is nothing else that takes a broad picture without pursuing a single agenda. Is there some bias? Yes, there is in a sense. But it's a bias that latches on to the general trends of serious academics today -- for example, you might say that she has a materialist bias, but that is just the way that most serious and scientifically oriented thinkers operate these days. Overall, her perspective is, I think, very objective without losing what is truly fascinating about the topic.
1 Comment
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Susan Blackmore is sharp and relentless in her quest to unveil confusion and misunderstanding regarding what consciousness is and what -or who- the self is. Her own views take unmistakeable shape as she reviews and examines -critically- the views of some of the most relevant authors on the matter. She includes a section on meditation and the Buddhist view on consciousness and the self. She is one of very few authors that dares take a challenging stance regarding common misunderstandings of the Buddha's teachings. After reading this book, the Buddhist teaching of anatta (no substance, or no-self) reveals a radical and liberating scenario.
Comment
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Even if you do not find the topic to be the most fascinating subject in philosophy, psychology and neuroscience, you will be surprised and enlightened on nearly every page of this excellent textbook. Practical exercises to expand your understanding of your own experience are combined with recent experimental studies and cutting-edge theory. Best of all, the reader is given everything she needs to overcome the illusion of consciousness altogether! Read the book, ponder the ideas it contains, & practice the exercises. Your life will change.
Comment
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
I gave this book 5 stars because it provided me much more concepts beyond the fundamentals. The book was very easy to read in terms of being able to understand the concepts right away. Even though it is used, this book was worth looking into and useful for my class related to the topic of consciousness.
Comment
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
20 of 31 people found the following review helpful
This book is perhaps fit for school children, but adults who are seriously interested in consciousness studies should instead read David Chalmers's books. The reader Susan Blackmore has in mind seems to be a not necessarily terribly bright youngster. While this gives rise to an at times irritatingly condescending tone, the worst thing about the book is the way important issues are brushed aside. For instance the ability of consciousness to affect itself is seen as an argument against the theory that consciousness is an epiphenomenon, but in fact what it would take to make consciousness more than an epiphenomenon would be an ability to affect the phenomenon proper (rather than the epiphenomenon itself), and the epiphenomenon theory denies the ability of consciousness to do exactly this. Another example: Blackmore somehow has convinced herself that the origin of the universe and the nature of space and time are no longer mysteries since we now "know how to think about them". No intelligent person who follows the physico-philosophical debates on these issues can feel so confident we are on the right track in these areas.
The book appears to be hurriedly written and contains quite a few examples of strange prejudice or ignorance. For instance when we hear of "the neighbor's vicious bloodhound" and note that this is not an actual, but an imagined, aggressive canine, whose mood doesn't really matter for the argument anyway we must conclude that Blackmore wanted the dog to be vicious just for effect (which is silly in itself) and chose the breed bloodhound because a breed that has "blood" in its name must be particularly ferocious. In fact bloodhounds like most other large breeds are quite gentle dogs.Read more ›
2 Comments
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes No
Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
If this review is inappropriate, please let us know.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more
