Panpsychism in the West (Bradford Books) [Paperback]

David Skrbina (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 26, 2007 | Series: Bradford Books

In Panpsychism in the West, the first comprehensive study of the subject, David Skrbina argues for the importance of panpsychism--the theory that mind exists, in some form, in all living and nonliving things--in consideration of the nature of consciousness and mind. Despite the recent advances in our knowledge of the brain and the increasing intricacy and sophistication of philosophical discussion, the nature of mind remains an enigma. Panpsychism, with its conception of mind as a general phenomenon of nature, uniquely links being and mind. More than a theory of mind, it is a meta-theory--a statement about theories of mind rather than a theory in itself. Panpsychism can parallel almost every current theory of mind; it simply holds that, no matter how one conceives of mind, such mind applies to all things. In addition, panpsychism is one of the most ancient and enduring concepts of philosophy, beginning with its pre-historical forms, animism and polytheism. Its adherents in the West have included important thinkers from the very beginning of Greek philosophy through the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to the present.Skrbina argues that panpsychism is long overdue for detailed treatment, and with this book he proposes to add impetus to the discussion of panpsychism in serious philosophical inquiries. After a brief discussion of general issues surrounding philosophy of mind, he traces the panpsychist views of specific philosophers, from the ancient Greeks and early Renaissance naturalist philosophers through the likes of William James, Josiah Royce, and Charles Sanders Peirce--always with a strong emphasis on the original texts. In his concluding chapter, "A Panpsychist World View," Skrbina assesses panpsychist arguments and puts them in a larger context. By demonstrating that there is panpsychist thinking in many major philosophers, Skrbina offers a radical challenge to the modern worldview, based as it is on a mechanistic cosmos of dead, insensate matter. Panpsychism in the West will be the standard work on this topic for years to come.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Panpsychism is a rarely named but nevertheless perennial and influential subcurrent in the history of Western philosophy. David Skrbina does us a crucial service by offering a wonderfully comprehensive historical overview of an idea whose time is, perhaps, about to come."--Freya Mathews, School of Philosophy, LaTrobe University, Australia

" Panpsychism in the West provides a long overdue and much needed reexamination of this age-old doctrine, one which still retains some fascination for modern philosophy of mind. Skrbina's brisk, no-nonsense approach reveals the amazing influence panpsychism has had throughout the history of philosophy as a persistent counterweight to the rise of mechanistic science and scientistic philosophy. This book will be of immense use to students and of great interest to anyone who cares to see the full range of philosophical opinion as it has evolved over the centuries." William Seager , Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto at Scarborough

"*Panpsychism in the West* provides a long overdue and much needed reexamination of this age-old doctrine, one which still retains some fascination for modern philosophy of mind. Skrbina's brisk, no-nonsense approach reveals the amazing influence panpsychism has had throughout the history of philosophy as a persistent counterweight to the rise of mechanistic science and scientistic philosophy. This book will be of immense use to students and of great interest to anyone who cares to see the full range of philosophical opinion as it has evolved over the centuries."--William Seager, Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto at Scarborough

About the Author

David Skrbina is a Lecturer in Philosophy in the Department of Humanities at the University of Michigan at Dearborn.

Product Details

• Paperback: 326 pages
• Publisher: A Bradford Book; 1 edition (January 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262693518
• ISBN-13: 978-0262693516
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #807,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear, Challenging and Provocative, February 13, 2006

By 

Dr. Richard G. Petty (Atlanta) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panpsychism in the West (Bradford Books) (Hardcover)

An outstanding piece of work that shows that philosophy CAN be a lot more interesting than watching paint dry!

The deanimation of Nature was a great sleight of hand of the Enlightenment. There is progressively more evidence that the notion that the whole Universe is comprised of nothing but cleverly arranged inanimate objects is fundamentally flawed. This fine book does not present us with a definitive answer or solution: it is rather an examination of the concept that Mind exists in some form throughout the phenomenal world and beyond it. It emphasizes that this apparently heretical concept is a legitmate field of inquiry.

This book is well written and deserves a wide readership, particularly amongst those who have enjoyed the insights of Ken Wilber, Ervin Laszlo and Christian de Quincey. I wish that it would also be read by some of my friends and colleagues in the scientific community, but I fear that is a vain hope!

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Towards a Science of Consciousness - oops, Reset!, December 10, 2005

By 

S. R. Deiss "bs-me-not" (Encinitas, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panpsychism in the West (Bradford Books) (Hardcover)

This book is an excellent introduction to Panpsychism. It gives lots of detailed history and clarifies the issues up to recent debates. I highly recommend it, especially for tough minded scientists and other true believers.

Science has had a hard time finding a focus for mind and awareness under its microscope. After a decade of having the spotlight of science on this subject area, there is still no agreement even on what consciousness is, and that is the self admission of the leaders in the field of consciousness studies.

It's my (lonely) view that science as now understood is not up to this task, is not itself well understood, and that a radical change of view and approach is needed to place mind in nature. My long standing openness to Panpsychism has recently led to incorperating it into an integrated view of nature. This view requires better "nontranscendental" science.

There are other recent voices who would approach this through quantum mechanics, emergence etc. etc. With the historical emphasis of this book, I dont think it had the scope for an in-depth coverage of what has been happening the past 25 years related to Panpsychism. My hope is that Skrbina is working on a sequel to clarify the current state of the art in addition to working on his own solutions in his research interests.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars questioning the nature of matter, November 8, 2005

By 

Louis Berger ([e-mail] Forsyth, GA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Panpsychism in the West (Bradford Books) (Hardcover)

We are scientistically smug about the nature of the "inanimate world." We KNOW all about matter/energy, and KNOW that it is just a matter of time before the natural sciences, the disciplines dealing with the inert world, can explain the up-to-now mysterious leap from neurobiology to awareness. Read this excellent book to find out that an alternative view has been available all along--for at least 2500 years in Western thought-- and that it is a credible, interesting, generative option that many major thinkers, old and new, have seriously promulgated.