The reel of consciousness

Abstract

Reviews the books, Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist by Christof Koch (see record [rid]2012-08201-000[/rid]) and Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking by Daniel C. Dennett (see record [rid]2013-07438-000[/rid]). In his book, Christof Koch remains as adamantly reductionist and allows himself to wander into the realms of sentimentality on the subject of his beloved pet dogs, and a decidedly scientistic form of mysticism about the sentient nature of the cosmos. Koch's work is a laconic notebook, the prose at times reminiscent of a rap session. He tells us that he has deliberately broken away from the 'tired third person accounts of consciousness enquiry' in order to place his theorizing within the story of his life. Daniel Dennett, also remains doggedly attached to the reductionist explanation but something happened to his prose and manner of exposition: there is an impatience—an economy reminiscent of telegraphese—less like reading a book than a series of newspaper columns or emails. Despite the intransigence of their convictions, the authors' mode of writing draws attention to the distance travelled these past four decades in the varieties and quality of prose and literary forms employed by exponents of consciousness studies. The curious thing about Dennett's book as a piece of literature is that it owes less to philosophy of mind than to encounters with once fashionable literary theories. Christof Koch is no philosopher, and makes no reference whatsoever to Dennett, even in his bibliography. By the same token, there is only one brief mention of Koch in Dennett's text. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)