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  • Published: 24 June 1993
  • ISBN: 9780141956107
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 528

Consciousness Explained



This book revises the traditional view of consciousness by claiming that Cartesianism and Descartes' dualism of mind and body should be replaced with theories from the realms of neuroscience, psychology and artificial intelligence. What people think of as the stream of consciousness is not a single, unified sequence, the author argues, but "multiple drafts" of reality composed by a computer-like "virtual machine". Dennett considers how consciousness could have evolved in human beings and confronts the classic mysteries of consciousness: the nature of introspection, the self or ego and its relation to thoughts and sensations, and the level of consciousness of non-human creatures.

  • Published: 24 June 1993
  • ISBN: 9780141956107
  • Imprint: Penguin eBooks
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 528

About the authors

Daniel C. Dennett

Daniel C. Dennett is the University Professor and Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy at Tufts University. He is the author of numerous books including Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking, Breaking the Spell, Darwin's Dangerous Idea, and Consciousness Explained.