Consciousness in Action

In this important book, Susan Hurley sheds new light on consciousness by examining its relationships to action from various angles. She assesses the role of agency in the unity of a conscious perspective, and argues that perception and action are more deeply interdependent than we usually assume. A standard view conceives perception as input from world to mind and action as output from mind to world, with the serious business of thought in between. Hurley criticizes this picture, and considers how the interdependence of perceptual experience and agency at the personal level (of mental contents and norms) may emerge from the subpersonal level (of underlying causal processes and complex dynamic feedback systems). Her two-level view has wide implications, for topics that include self-consciousness, the modularity of mind, and the relations of mind to world. The self no longer lurks hidden somewhere between perceptual input and behavioral output, but reappears out in the open, embodied and embedded in its environment. Hurley traces these themes from Kantian and Wittgensteinian arguments through to intriguing recent work in neuropsychology and in dynamic systems approaches to the mind, providing a bridge from mainstream philosophy to work in other disciplines. __Consciousness in Action__ is unique in the range of philosophical and scientific work it draws on, and in the deep criticism it offers of centuries-old habits of thought. In this important book, Susan Hurley sheds new light on consciousness by examining its relationships to action from various angles. She assesses the role of agency in the unity of a conscious perspective. and argues that perception and action are more deeply interdependent than we usually assume. A standard view conceives perception as input from world to mind and action as output from mind to world, with the serious business of thought in between. Hurley criticizes this picture, and considers how the interdependence of perceptual experience and agency at the personal level (of mental contents and norms) may emerge from the sub personal level of underlying causal processes and complex dynamic feedback systems). Her two-level view has wide implications, for topics that include self-consciousness, the modularity of mind, and the relations of mind to world. The self no longer lurks hidden somewhere between perceptual input and behavioral output, but reappears out in the open, embodied and embedded in its environment.Hurley traces these themes from Kantian and Wittgensteinian arguments through to intriguing recent work in neuropsychology and in dynamic systems approaches to the mind, providing a bridge from mainstream philosophy to work in other disciplines. Consciousness in Action is unique in the range of philosophical and scientific work it draws on, and in the deep it criticism it offers of centuries-old habits of thought. A Standard View Conceives Perception As Input From World To Mind And Action As Output From Mind To World, With The Serious Business Of Thought In Between. Hurley Criticizes This Picture, And Considers How The Interdependence Of Perceptual Experience And Agency At The Personal Level (of Mental Contents And Norms) May Emerge From The Subpersonal Level (of Underlying Causal Processes And Complex Dynamic Feedback Systems). Hurley Traces These Themes From Kantian And Wittgensteinian Arguments Through To Recent Work In Neuropsychology And In Dynamic Systems Approaches To The Mind, Providing A Bridge From Mainstream Philosophy To Work In Other Disciplines. Introduction: The Reappearing Self -- I. Action And The Unity Of Consciousness. 1. Three Mistakes About Consciousness. 2. Self-consciousness, Spontaneity, And The Myth Of The Giving. 3. Unity, Objectivity, And Norms. 4. Nonconceptual Self-consciousness: Perspective, Access, And Agency. 5. Unity, Neuropsychology, And Action -- Ii. Perception And Action. 6. Wittgenstein On Practice And The Myth Of The Giving. 7. Content And Environment: Parallels Between Perception And Action. 8. Perception, Dynamic Feedback, And Externalism. 9. Neuropsychology Versus The Input-output Picture. 10. Alternative Views Of Perception And Action. Appendix: Outline Of The Arguments. S.l. Hurley. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [467]-490) And Index. A standard view conceives perception as input from world to mind and action as output from mind to world, with the serious business of thought in between. Hurley criticizes this picture, and considers how the interdependence of perceptual experience and agency at the personal level (of mental contents and norms) may emerge from the subpersonal level (of underlying causal processes and complex dynamic feedback systems). Hurley traces these themes from Kantian and Wittgensteinian arguments through to recent work in neuropsychology and in dynamic systems approaches to the mind, providing a bridge from mainstream philosophy to work in other disciplines. A standard view conceives perception as input from world to mind and action as output from mind to world, with the serious business of thought in between. Hurley criticizes this picture, and considers how the interdependence of perceptual experience and agency at the personal level (of mental contents and norms) may emerge from the subpersonal level (of underlying causal processes and complex dynamic feedback systems). Hurley traces these themes from Kantian and Wittgensteinian arguments through to recent work in neuropsychology and in dynamic systems approaches to the mind, providing a bridge from mainstream philosophy to work in other disciplines.