Tim Bayne - The Unity of Consciousness [2012][A]

Book Description
In The Unity of Consciousness Tim Bayne draws on philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience in defence of the claim that consciousness is unified. In the first part of the book Bayne develops an account of what it means to say that consciousness is unified. Part II applies this account to a variety of cases - drawn from both normal and pathological forms of experience - in which the unity of consciousness is said to break down. Bayne argues that the unity of consciousness remains intact in each of these cases. Part III explores the implications of the unity of consciousness for theories of consciousness, for the sense of embodiment, and for accounts of the self. In one of the most comprehensive examinations of the topic available, The Unity of Consciousness draws on a wide range of findings within philosophy and the sciences of the mind to construct an account of the unity of consciousness that is both conceptually sophisticated and scientifically informed.

Review
in many ways impressive... careful and often illuminating... It is the most thorough discussion of the unity of consciousness there is, and anyone interested in the topic should read it. Sydney Shoemaker, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Impressive in the range of topics discussed... Bayne delicately evaluates the evidential value of introspective reports, and he explores a number of fascinating implications of the Unity Thesis about holism and atomism and the sense of embodiment, as well as conceptions of the self. The Unity of Consciousness thus highlights a wealth of issues related to consciousness. Lynne Rudder Baker, Times Literary Supplement

About the Author
Tim Bayne is a University Lecturer in Philosophy of Mind at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of St. Catherine's College. His main interests lie in the philosophy of psychology, with a particular focus on consciousness.