Emergence of Consciousness (Paperback)

How does the conscious mind relate to the physical body? Two common views from the past offered the stark choice between dualism - which said mind and body were quite separarte - and physicalism - which said the mind was in fact "nothing but" the physical brain. Both these views have been widely rejected. "Emergence " theory offers a compromise: the mind "emerges" from the physical body but the whole person, mind and body, is more than the sum of the physical parts. In collection of essays on the relation between the conscious mind and the body, philosopher Robert Van Gulick gives a clear overview and comparison on "emergent" and "reductive" approaches. Other contributors discuss more detailed aspects of the subject, while the editor argues for the radical proposal the even God is an "emergent property".