Understanding Consciousness

"Following the best traditions, the book has an explanatory beginning, an unmissable middle and a happy end. ... It is refreshing to find amongst the consciousness literature a book that is so accessible and focused. Velmans maintains a clarity rarely found in the deep abysses of philosophy, psychology and neurophysiology without departing from the point. Consequently, I would recommend this book equally both to the connoisseur of consciousness studies and to the mere aficionado. The connoisseur may find new ways of looking at, studying and debating consciousness and the aficionado may get seriously conscious food for thought." -- Dora Brown, University of Surrey, in The Psychologist, November 2000

"Max Velmans has written a fundamentally important book. At a time when many are expressing an increasing interest in our experience of 'consciousness', he presents a coherent and comprehensive survey of the state of knowledge in this field. ... But he does more than this. ... there is a level of original thinking in his writing that makes a useful contribution to the debate about one of the most complex issues of our time." -- Joan Walton in Caduceus, October, 2000

"This is a fine book. In what has become a crowded field, it stands out as direct, deep, and daring. It should place Max Velmans amongst the stars in the field like Chalmers, Dennett, Searle and the Churchlands... It is direct in that the de rigueur history and review of the field is illuminating and concise. It is deep in that Velmans deconstructs the usual idea of an objective world as distinct from our experienced world. It is daring in that in his last chapter he comes out on the side of consciousness co-evolving with the universe rather than arising at some point within it. I would rate this book as a strong success, especially as his clear exposition and short chapters make reading more of a pleasure than a labour. All in all, a stimulating read which emphasises some fundamental truths that are too often overlooked in consciousness studies." -- Greg Nixon, Prescott College, Arizona, in the Journal of Consciousness Studies, October 2000

"Velmans launches a sustained and well-reasoned attack on the prevailing 'orthodoxies' of functionalism and other reductionist so-called explanations of consciousness. ...[In] arguing for his own position - his reflexive model - he deeply challenges the reader's assumptions. ... The reflexive model touches on deeply provocative ideas which could yet catalyse the next step forward in understanding consciousness." -- Les Lancaster, Liverpool John Moore's University, in Consciousness & Experiential Psychology, September, 2000

... a splendid assessment of and contribution to the debate about consciousness as it is currently being waged between psychologists, philosophers, some neuroscientists and AI people -- Steven Rose, The Open University, pre-publication review

...complements Chalmer's influential The Conscious Mind in illustrating precisely why and how the problem of consciousness is indeed a hard rather than an easy problem...Like Jaynes' celebrated Origin of Consciousness, Velmans' book will be found informative and stimulating even by those who in the end are not persuaded that it vouchsaves the solution. -- Stevan Harnad, Southampton University, pre-publication review

An exceptionally lucid and balanced account of the different approaches to and aspects of the problem. Useful for both scientists and philosophers ... a beautifully written text -- Jeffrey Gray, Institute of Psychiatry, pre-publication review

Being inspired with lucidity and a true interdisciplinary spirit, Understanding Consciousness is lasting in value. -- Alexander Batthyany, University of Vienna, in Theory & Psychology

The "hard" problem of consciousness.. will take more than a collection of data, no matter how sophisticated, to solve. What is needed is a conceptual revolution. Understanding Consciousness presents a lucid, indeed masterly, account of the philosophical issues involved. It is strong on historical scholarship and conceptual analysis, can easily be digested by the beginner, and is an excellent review for the jaded. New readers should definitely start here. But the book is much more than a philosophical treatise. Velmans is a scientist as much as a philosopher. He brings the philosophy to bear on the interpretation of scientific fact and theory and vice versa, to the enrichment of both." -- Jeffrey Gray, Institute of Psychiatry, London, in the Times Higher Educational Supplement, October 13, 200

This book is excellent. There are lots of books on consciousness, but few which mix the philosophical, psychological and neuroscientific, and even fewer which are written without an axe to grind ... a lovely book ... I'll be recommending it to everyone I see -- John Kihlstrom, University of California at Berkeley, pre-publication review

This is a splendid book ... In my view it should have a profound and lasting effect upon the debate as to the nature and function of consciousness, and should stimulate much new thinking and investigation -- David Fontana, University of Cardiff, UK and University of Algarve, Portugal, pre-publication review