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Consciousness and Fundamental Reality (Philosophy of Mind Series) 1st Edition

by Philip Goff (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 25 ratings
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A core philosophical project is the attempt to uncover the fundamental nature of reality, the limited set of facts upon which all other facts depend. Perhaps the most popular theory of fundamental reality in contemporary analytic philosophy is physicalism, the view that the world is fundamentally physical in nature. The first half of this book argues that physicalist views cannot account for the evident reality of conscious experience, and hence that physicalism cannot be true. Unusually for an opponent of physicalism, Goff argues that there are big problems with the most well-known arguments against physicalism―Chalmers' zombie conceivability argument and Jackson's knowledge argument―and proposes significant modifications.

The second half of the book explores and defends a recently rediscovered theory of fundamental reality―or perhaps rather a grouping of such theories―known as 'Russellian monism.' Russellian monists draw inspiration from a couple of theses defended by Bertrand Russell in The Analysis of Matter in 1927. Russell argued that physics, for all its virtues, gives us a radically incomplete picture of the world. It tells us only about the extrinsic, mathematical features of material entities, and leaves us in the dark about their intrinsic nature, about how they are in and of themselves. Following Russell, Russellian monists suppose that it is this 'hidden' intrinsic nature of matter that explains human and animal consciousness.

Some Russellian monists adopt panpsychism, the view that the intrinsic natures of basic material entities involve consciousness; others hold that basic material entities are proto-conscious rather than conscious. Throughout the second half of the book various forms of Russellian monism are surveyed, and the key challenges facing it are discussed. The penultimate chapter defends a cosmopsychist form of Russellian monism, according to which all facts are grounded in facts about the conscious universe.
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  1. ISBN-10
    9780190677015
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0190677015
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press
  5. Publication date
    August 18, 2017
  6. Part of series
    Philosophy of Mind
  7. Language
    English
  8. Dimensions
    9.3 x 1 x 6.1 inches
  9. Print length
    304 pages
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

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"This book is an interesting and energetic exploration of Russellian monism, a position in philosophy of mind that has gained considerable attention in recent years because it promises to move us beyond the physicalist-dualist stand-off ... the book is honest, unflinching, imaginative and argumentative; in other words, a very good philosophy book." -- Daniel Stoljar, Notre Dame Philosophical Review

"This book contains some of the most important contributions to the metaphysics of consciousness in recent years. Philip Goff develops a sophisticated argument against materialism, and then explores the prospects for radical alternatives in considerable depth. He makes a strong case for panpsychism, the thesis that consciousness exists at a fundamental level of physical reality, and extends this to a case for cosmopsychism, the thesis that the universe as a whole is conscious. Anyone interested in the philosophical problem of consciousness should pay close attention to his ideas." ―David Chalmers, New York University, and series editor, Philosophy of Mind series (OUP)

"Goff has produced a grand piece of speculative metaphysics, in the tradition of Leibniz, Spinoza and Unger. It is also probably the best single piece of work emerging from the recent bloom of interest in Russellian monist views of consciousness. Starting with plausible and well-defended premises, he argues for a daring conclusion that many will find difficult to accept; yet, he makes a compelling case that there is no easy way to resist it. Figuring out how to respond to his rigorous and thorough arguments will be highly instructive (and fun!) for anyone with an interest in metaphysically-oriented philosophy of mind." ―Geoffrey Lee, University of California, Berkeley

"This book will quickly become a reference point for philosophical discussions of consciousness. Philip Goff lays out the issues with precision and cuts through to the heart of the latest philosophical technicalities. He also writes beautifully and advances a number of strikingly novel theses. No philosopher interested in consciousness can afford to ignore Consciousness and Fundamental Reality." ―David Papineau, King's College London and the City University of New York Graduate Center

"In an era of increasing specialization and 'small ball' philosophy, Philip Goff's Consciousness and Fundamental Reality comes as a welcome antidote. He defends a grand metaphysical vision of the world, constitutive cosmopsychism, according to which the universe as a whole is conscious, and everything else is grounded in its evolving conscious state. Yes, this view is revisionary. But all views on the mind-body problem are revisionary including orthodox physicalism. Goff develops a number of powerful arguments against the alternatives as well as a positive case for his cosmopsychism. His discussion demands and will repay our close attention." ―Adam Pautz, Brown University

About the Author

Philip Goff is Professor of Philosophy at Durham University. His research focuses on consciousness and the ultimate nature of reality. Goff is also the author of Galileo's Error: Foundations for a New Science of Consciousness (Pantheon 2019), Why? The Purpose of the Universe (OUP 2024), and co-editor of Is Consciousness Everywhere? Essays on Panpsychism (Imprint Academic, 2022). Goff has published many academic articles, as well as writing extensively for newspapers and magazines, including Scientific American, The Guardian, Aeon, and the Times Literary Supplement.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 0190677015
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press; 1st edition (August 18, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9780190677015
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0190677015
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.47 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.3 x 1 x 6.1 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 25 ratings

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Philip Goff

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4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
25 global ratings

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Navigator
5.0 out of 5 stars Corrective review
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2020
This is merely a corrective to Thomas Goodey's preposterous one-star review about the book's PRICE (for crying out loud).
19 people found this helpful
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G. W. B.
4.0 out of 5 stars Not good enough.
Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2018
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I don't understand it but a friend who graduated from MIT is trying to translate it for me. I only have a Master's degree. Not good enough.
3 people found this helpful
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Thomas Goodey
1.0 out of 5 stars The price is ridiculous
Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2019
I would love to read this book on my Kindle, but not at that absurd price! I have just pre-ordered Goff's latest book, 'Galileo's Error....', which is reasonably priced but not cheap. Why is this previous book so ridiculously expensive?
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Peter E
5.0 out of 5 stars Full of valuable ideas
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 19, 2018
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Any book that receives praise from both David Chalmers and David Papineau (distinguished philosophers having widely contrasting viewpoints) is worthy of attention. Part I is a detailed description of the metaphysical position of physicalism (in most of its variants). Thorough critiques of physicalism are provided, largely through Jackson’s story about Mary the incarcerated scientist and Chalmers’ argument about the conceivability of zombies. These critiques have been refined by the author.

A key idea motivating Philip Goff’s position is what he calls the “Consciousness Constraint: Any adequate theory of reality must entail that at least some phenomenal concepts are satisfied” (2). He also gives a lengthy defence of the thesis that when you are having an experience of (say) pain, then the reality of that pain, as an experience, “cannot be doubted” (108). He calls this thesis by the unfortunate name “Revelation” but it is a commonsense truth about the central meaning of the word “pain.” Some hard-line physicalists oppose revelation in an attempt to defend their position. He offers readers a meditation upon pain (108) to motivate them. My (serious) suggestion is that sceptical philosophers should practice the meditation while sitting in a bath filled with bucketfuls of ice.

Goff makes the valid point that, ever since the time of Newton, physics has been framed in the language of mathematics and also in terms of causation (laws of nature). That is to say, physics has an entirely mathematical-nomic[causal law] vocabulary (29-30). The controversial metaphysical position Pure Physicalism attempts to leverage this into the claim that everything – including mind – can be explained in terms of physics. Goff criticises this position and goes on to show that weaker versions of physicalism also fail.

In the Part II, Goff gives an account of Russellian Monism. This involves two theses: (i) matter has an intrinsic nature that is inaccessible to physics; (ii) this nature is such that it can explain consciousness (17-18, 142-144). He describes seven varieties of Russellian monism, including his favourite “A Conscious Universe” (Ch. 9).

Goff is still slightly in the thrall of physicalism, first because he believes in the concrete reality of physical causes per se, second because he assumes that mind is grounded in the physical rather than vice-versa, and third because he confutes idealism with irrealism (about such things as cats and electrons). As a result he rejects idealist variants of Russellian Monism too readily. More properly, idealism is the position that every truth about the world can be satisfactorily accounted for in broadly mentalistic terms – and this need not and should not involve irrealism.

My position is that everything that truly exists is intrinsically a centre of experience, having its own percept. It has volitions to change its percept, and these acts of will are the only authentic causation (in the concrete sense of something making something else happen) in the universe. There is no causal overdetermination problem (153-158) because so-called ‘physical causation’ is just a *description* of the succession of the universe’s goings-on.

Regarding “the tree in the quad” (163): You and I, the cells of the tree, the tree itself and any nearby pebble – all centres have percepts of our situation. These percepts contain structural information which is realised by differences in perceptual qualities. We humans, for example, each experience the lawn as a green quadrilateral in our visual percept, surrounded (otherwise we would not see it) by a different hue.

There is a certain degree of consilience between the percepts of all of the centres of experience inside the quad. This brute fact has no deeper explanation than that we are living in a cosmos with a fair degree of coherence. We can define any given physical fact by identifying it with maximally-reconciled structural information collated from the percepts of *all* centres of experience, no matter how primitive. The distance between you and me may be defined in this manner. (Of course, this is not an operational definition because we do not have epistemic access to the percepts of others.) In a similar way the whole of physics may be reduced to mentalistic terms. [End sketch of my position]

The final chapter argues that we should practice metaphysics with due regard to (i) current physical science (ii) the direct first person access each of us has to the nature of consciousness (272).

In chapter 7 Goff discusses panpsychism’s combination problem: how do many micro-subjects combine into one that is me? He gives William James’ classic formulation (172). In James’ later life, in “A Pluralistic Universe”, he rejected then-current physics, asserting that nature somehow managed the trick anyway. In my view, linking this problem to modern physics is key: this is so for Goff because mind is grounded in physics; and for me because physics is grounded in mind and I hold that no feature of mind is epiphenomenal. Quantum mechanics affirms that particles P1 and P2 can exist in an entangled state P*. Each particle - as observed by a scientist completely without access to the other one - behaves just as if it were unentangled. Their behaviour is correlated, however, in such a way that, in order to describe both requires reference to P*. The pair act as a single entity, and thus combine physically in a manner that is a perfect analogy for the combination of subjects we are seeking. We, as thinking creatures, are organisms, in which entities at all levels (particles, cells, and organs) must inevitably be entangled. This is contrary to Goff’s CIS principle (174).

To sum up, this is a thoroughly stimulating and highly valuable book that should encourage more philosophers, both academics and enthusiasts, to take a closer look at the merits of panpsychism, Russellian Monism, and Philip Goff’s favoured position: a Conscious Universe. No longer should we hear pronouncements akin to: “Metaphysics is dead – and I say that as a physicalist!”; “panpsychism is absurd – it is contrary to science”; and “panpsychism is absurd – it is empirically indistinguishable from physicalism.”
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colin benjamin
1.0 out of 5 stars Reality gets a little list in the search for a sense of the nature of thinking
Reviewed in Australia on February 6, 2021
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Complicated style with little on the nature of thinking although a good journey through theoretical abstractions
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The BookBreather
4.0 out of 5 stars Not an easy read but interesting
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 7, 2024
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I'm not a philosopher but I studied and did research in cognitive science and have a long-standing interest in philosophy of mind and metaphysics. I started as a sceptic regarding panpsychism but after reading this book I have much more respect for the idea and its proponents. No, I am not a convert, but my mind has been opened to new possibilities and I will follow future developments with interest, in spite of the bit of my conscious self that screams, 'No way!'
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Dr. P. Cramer
5.0 out of 5 stars An original form of panpsychism
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 23, 2018
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This is a well argued and intriguing argument for panpsychism. It appeared to me to be an updated analytical style presentation of the metaphysics of Bks One and Two of Spinoza’s Ethics. If you are interested in the philosophy of mind this is a brilliant must read.
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