SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS/Bermudez: PSYC Call for Book Reviewers

PSYCOLOQUY CALL FOR BOOK REVIEWERS Below is the Abstract of "The Paradox of Self-Consciousness" by Jose Luis Bermudez (799 lines). This book has been selected for multiple review in PSYCOLOQUY. If you wish to submit a formal book review please write to psyc(a)pucc.princeton.edu indicating what expertise you would bring to bear on reviewing the book if you were selected to review it. (If you have never reviewed for PSYCOLOQUY or Behavioral & Brain Sciences before, it would be helpful if you could also append a copy of your CV to your inquiry.) If you are selected as one of the reviewers and do not have a copy of the book, you will be sent a copy of the book directly by the publisher (please let us know if you have a copy already). Reviews may also be submitted without invitation, but all reviews will be refereed. The author will reply to all accepted reviews. Full Psycoloquy book review instructions at: http://www.princeton.edu/~harnad/psyc.html http://www.cogsci.soton.ac.uk/psycoloquy/ Relevant excerpts: Psycoloquy reviews are of the book not the Precis. Length should be about 200 lines [c. 1800 words], with a short abstract (about 50 words), an indexable title, and reviewer's full name and institutional address, email and Home Page URL. All cited references that are electronically accessible should also have URLs indicated. AUTHOR'S RATIONALE FOR SOLICITING MULTIPLE BOOK REVIEW: The book offers a novel approach to the study of self-consciousness, integrating philosophical argument with detailed study of empirical work from a range of disciplines. It provides a framework for linking together distinct areas of cognitive science which are rarely discussed together and discusses some fundamental problems in the foundations of psychology (such as the nature of concepts and the possibility of thought without language). I am continuing to work on some of the central themes of the book and would greatly benefit from feedback from the biobehavioral and cognitive science community. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- psycoloquy.99.10.035.self-consciousness.1.bermudez Sun Oct 17 1999 ISSN 1055-0143 (47 paragraphs, 30 references, 799 lines) PSYCOLOQUY is sponsored by the American Psychological Association (APA) Copyright 1999 Jose Luis Bermudez THE PARADOX OF SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS (REPRESENTATION AND MIND) Precis of Bermudez on Self-Consciousness [MIT/Bradford, 1998 xiv, 236 pp. ISBN: 0-262-02441-1] Jose Luis Bermudez Department of Philosophy University of Stirling Stirling FK9 4LA Scotland CREA Ecole Polytechnique 1 Rue Descartes 75005 Paris France jose.bermudez(a)stir.ac.uk ABSTRACT: This book addresses two fundamental questions in the philosophy and psychology of self-consciousness: (1) Can we provide a noncircular account of full-fledged self-conscious thought and language in terms of more fundamental capacities? (2) Can we explain how full-fledged self-conscious thought and language can arise in the normal course of human development? I argue that a paradox (the paradox of self-consciousness) arises from the apparent strict interdependence between self-conscious thought and linguistic self-reference. Responding to the paradox, I draw on recent work in empirical psychology and philosophy to cut the tie between self-conscious thought and linguistic self-reference. The book studies primitive forms of nonconceptual self-consciousness manifested in visual perception, somatic proprioception, spatial reasoning and interpersonal psychological interactions. KEYWORDS: cognitive maps; concepts; content; ecological self; navigation; proprioception; self-consciousness; self-reference; visual perception;