© Uitgeverij Boom, Amsterdam 2014
© Hans Dooremalen, Tilburg 2014
Tweede oplage 2019
Behoudens de in of krachtens de Auteurswet van 1912 gestelde uitzonderingen mag niets uit deze
uitgave worden verveelvoudigd, opgeslagen in een geautomatiseerd gegevensbestand, of openbaar
gemaakt, in enige vorm of op enige wijze, hetzij elektronisch, mechanisch door fotokopieén,
opnamen of enig andere manier, zonder voorafyaande schriftelijke toestemming van de uitgever.
Voor zover het maken van kopieén uit deze uitgave is toegestaan op grond van artikelen 16h t/m
16m Auteurswet 1912 jo. besluit van 27 november 2002, Stb 575, dient men de daarvoor wettelijk
verschuldigde vergoeding te voldoen aan de Stichting Reprorecht te Hoofddorp (postbus 3060,
2130 KB, www.reprorecht.nl) of contact op te hemen met de uitgever voor het treffen van een
rechtstreekse regeling in de zin van art. 161, vijfde lid, Auteurswet 1912, Voor het overnemen
van gedeelte(n) uit deze uitgave in bloemlezingen, readers en andere compilatiewerken (artikel
16, Auteurswet 1912) kan men zich wenden tot de Stichting Pro (Stichting Publicatie- en
Reproductierechten, postbus 3060, 2130 KB Hoofddorp, www.cedarnl/pro).
No part of this book may be reproduced in any way whatsoever without the written permission of the
publisher.
Verzorging omslag en binnenwerk: image realize
Squares back cover: Created by Hans Dooremalen.
ISBN 978 94 6105 5811
NUR 730
,“Consci
How do
seems t
ject do
just take
books a
conscio
combine
to an an
and the
consciou
Austr
experien
mysterio
1 Descar
2 Nagel
3 Chalme
, 8 Questions about the conscious mind
for instance, is one that is very familiar, but most of us haven't got the and fun
slightest clue of how it is related to the regt of the world. We all have I have a
some idea of what consciousness is, but that idea is far from clear. When expected
we ponder the question what the place of the conscious mind in the half of t
world is, most of us have to rely on our intuitions or on the people we in the wo
consider to be authorities in this area, like priests, scientists or philoso- half of t
phers. This book aims to provide you with basic possible answers to the The
questions what consciousness is and what its place in the world is, thus views of
enabling you to develop an informed answer to this question yourself said, we
and no longer having to rely on intuition or authority. idea of
According to a Science survey published in July 2005, we don't know conscio
the answer to 125 questions. One of these is: “What is the biological right an
basis of consciousness?”4 Hopes are that the answer will be found in Findi
this century. actions
I have selected eight key questions about the conscious mind. The you mig
search for their answers will guide us along the different positions in if you b
the debate about how to think about the conscious mind in a physical merely
world. The order in which I present these questions is roughly historical. you are
By discussing them in a chronological fashion, the answer to one ques- your ch
tion will lead us to the next. Our starting point is the question what is native
consciousness? Of course, a preliminary answer will be provided. Most of I hav
the subsequent questions are concerned with the place of the conscious to also
mind in the physical world. We will see that the answers to these ques- ner part
tions may also have implications for our preliminary answer to the ques- friends
tion what the conscious mind is, and this might compel us to change bars to
our views about consciousness along the way. that th
On average, about half of the population in Western countries level of
believe in the separability thesis> - the thesis that the mind can exist scious
matters
are not
4 Miller (2005).
5 In April 2009 Theos - a public theology think tank - published the results ofa poll held
This ch
by ComRes over 2.000 people in the UK. It showed that 70% believed in the soul, and this in
39% believed in ghosts (Theos, 2009). In September the Dutch popular science magazine conscio
Quest published the results of a poll held by TNS NIPO over 1000 Dutchmen. It showed
that 52% believed that people that have experienced a near death experience, caught a
glimpse of the afterlife (Fontani & Mijnhart, 2007: 31) implying that there is such thing at
life after death, and hence a soul. 6 See t
, 8 Questions about the conscious mind
each chapter for those wanting more after reading this book. These tips
will enable you to further explore the respective chapters topics.
WHA
*
Acknowledgments
I believe that you only truly understand something if you can also
explain it. Such understanding does not come easily and requires the
help of many people. I would like to thank my students, colleagues,
friends and family for our conversations on the conscious mind. I espe-
cially want to thank ~ in order of appearance - Shima Nu, Chiel Bertens,
Renske Brands, Olga Ansems, Rick Dooremalen, Gerard van Gorkum,
Bas Jongenelen, Janneke van Gog and Anique Lensen. My gratitude also
goes out to Herman de Regt and Maurice Schouten, with whom I wrote outs
a Dutch textbook about philosophy of mind a couple of years ago. I have
learned a lot from them and many of the topics in that book have found
their way into this one. I would also like to thank Wouter van Gils and
Niels Cornelissen at Boom Publishers for the opportunity and help in
writing this book. Thanks to Diana Vlad, Megan Phipps, Raoul Weath- A bar
erell, and Anne de Bruijn for proofreading and editing the text. As always,
with acknowledgements, you cannot list all the family, friends and col- Lam s
leagues who have - in one way or another - contributed to a book. So, senten
thanks to all of you with whom I have engaged in fruitful conversations 1 am l
about questions pertaining to the conscious mind. @ of the
Oslofj
believe
lish ly
of a pa
dear f
lots of
and t
waves
and I f
1 Cha
© Hans Dooremalen, Tilburg 2014
Tweede oplage 2019
Behoudens de in of krachtens de Auteurswet van 1912 gestelde uitzonderingen mag niets uit deze
uitgave worden verveelvoudigd, opgeslagen in een geautomatiseerd gegevensbestand, of openbaar
gemaakt, in enige vorm of op enige wijze, hetzij elektronisch, mechanisch door fotokopieén,
opnamen of enig andere manier, zonder voorafyaande schriftelijke toestemming van de uitgever.
Voor zover het maken van kopieén uit deze uitgave is toegestaan op grond van artikelen 16h t/m
16m Auteurswet 1912 jo. besluit van 27 november 2002, Stb 575, dient men de daarvoor wettelijk
verschuldigde vergoeding te voldoen aan de Stichting Reprorecht te Hoofddorp (postbus 3060,
2130 KB, www.reprorecht.nl) of contact op te hemen met de uitgever voor het treffen van een
rechtstreekse regeling in de zin van art. 161, vijfde lid, Auteurswet 1912, Voor het overnemen
van gedeelte(n) uit deze uitgave in bloemlezingen, readers en andere compilatiewerken (artikel
16, Auteurswet 1912) kan men zich wenden tot de Stichting Pro (Stichting Publicatie- en
Reproductierechten, postbus 3060, 2130 KB Hoofddorp, www.cedarnl/pro).
No part of this book may be reproduced in any way whatsoever without the written permission of the
publisher.
Verzorging omslag en binnenwerk: image realize
Squares back cover: Created by Hans Dooremalen.
ISBN 978 94 6105 5811
NUR 730
,“Consci
How do
seems t
ject do
just take
books a
conscio
combine
to an an
and the
consciou
Austr
experien
mysterio
1 Descar
2 Nagel
3 Chalme
, 8 Questions about the conscious mind
for instance, is one that is very familiar, but most of us haven't got the and fun
slightest clue of how it is related to the regt of the world. We all have I have a
some idea of what consciousness is, but that idea is far from clear. When expected
we ponder the question what the place of the conscious mind in the half of t
world is, most of us have to rely on our intuitions or on the people we in the wo
consider to be authorities in this area, like priests, scientists or philoso- half of t
phers. This book aims to provide you with basic possible answers to the The
questions what consciousness is and what its place in the world is, thus views of
enabling you to develop an informed answer to this question yourself said, we
and no longer having to rely on intuition or authority. idea of
According to a Science survey published in July 2005, we don't know conscio
the answer to 125 questions. One of these is: “What is the biological right an
basis of consciousness?”4 Hopes are that the answer will be found in Findi
this century. actions
I have selected eight key questions about the conscious mind. The you mig
search for their answers will guide us along the different positions in if you b
the debate about how to think about the conscious mind in a physical merely
world. The order in which I present these questions is roughly historical. you are
By discussing them in a chronological fashion, the answer to one ques- your ch
tion will lead us to the next. Our starting point is the question what is native
consciousness? Of course, a preliminary answer will be provided. Most of I hav
the subsequent questions are concerned with the place of the conscious to also
mind in the physical world. We will see that the answers to these ques- ner part
tions may also have implications for our preliminary answer to the ques- friends
tion what the conscious mind is, and this might compel us to change bars to
our views about consciousness along the way. that th
On average, about half of the population in Western countries level of
believe in the separability thesis> - the thesis that the mind can exist scious
matters
are not
4 Miller (2005).
5 In April 2009 Theos - a public theology think tank - published the results ofa poll held
This ch
by ComRes over 2.000 people in the UK. It showed that 70% believed in the soul, and this in
39% believed in ghosts (Theos, 2009). In September the Dutch popular science magazine conscio
Quest published the results of a poll held by TNS NIPO over 1000 Dutchmen. It showed
that 52% believed that people that have experienced a near death experience, caught a
glimpse of the afterlife (Fontani & Mijnhart, 2007: 31) implying that there is such thing at
life after death, and hence a soul. 6 See t
, 8 Questions about the conscious mind
each chapter for those wanting more after reading this book. These tips
will enable you to further explore the respective chapters topics.
WHA
*
Acknowledgments
I believe that you only truly understand something if you can also
explain it. Such understanding does not come easily and requires the
help of many people. I would like to thank my students, colleagues,
friends and family for our conversations on the conscious mind. I espe-
cially want to thank ~ in order of appearance - Shima Nu, Chiel Bertens,
Renske Brands, Olga Ansems, Rick Dooremalen, Gerard van Gorkum,
Bas Jongenelen, Janneke van Gog and Anique Lensen. My gratitude also
goes out to Herman de Regt and Maurice Schouten, with whom I wrote outs
a Dutch textbook about philosophy of mind a couple of years ago. I have
learned a lot from them and many of the topics in that book have found
their way into this one. I would also like to thank Wouter van Gils and
Niels Cornelissen at Boom Publishers for the opportunity and help in
writing this book. Thanks to Diana Vlad, Megan Phipps, Raoul Weath- A bar
erell, and Anne de Bruijn for proofreading and editing the text. As always,
with acknowledgements, you cannot list all the family, friends and col- Lam s
leagues who have - in one way or another - contributed to a book. So, senten
thanks to all of you with whom I have engaged in fruitful conversations 1 am l
about questions pertaining to the conscious mind. @ of the
Oslofj
believe
lish ly
of a pa
dear f
lots of
and t
waves
and I f
1 Cha
