Understanding Attention and Its Impact on Consciousness

By Sebastian Watzl, this book delves into the foundational topics of philosophy of mind, theory of action, psychology, and neurosciences to provide a comprehensive understanding of attention and its role in shaping consciousness. Attention is not just an element of the mind, but a central structural feature that integrates, organizes, and coordinates various parts of our mind.

The first half of the book offers an account of the nature of attention, explaining how it prioritizes and regulates priority structures. Attention integrates the perceptual and intellectual, the cognitive and motivational, and the epistemic and practical aspects of our mind. It is not merely a passive receiver of information, but an active participant in shaping our perception of the world.

The second half of the book explores the relationship between attention and consciousness. Watzl argues that attentional structure shapes consciousness into what is central and what is peripheral. This center-periphery structure of consciousness cannot be reduced to the way the world appears to the subject. Instead, it actively influences how we perceive and interpret the world around us.

On this basis, a new view of consciousness is offered. In each conscious experience, we actively take a stance on the world we appear to encounter. It is in this sense that our conscious experience is our subjective perspective. This book provides a unified and comprehensive answer to the questions of what attention is and how it shapes consciousness, making it a valuable resource for scholars and researchers in the fields of philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience.

Product Details:

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 352

Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (May 23, 2017)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0199658420

ISBN-13: 978-0199658428