In Content and Consciousness (1969) Daniel Dennett introduced some pillars of his influential work in philosophy of mind, philosophy of evolution and cognitive science. This book promoted some notable changes in the way in which analytic philosophers of mind had been working during the first half of the XX Century. In C&C Dennett developed some arguments to (dis)solve long-standing philosophical problems concerning mind and its relationships to brain activity and behavior. C&C has been one of the works that have served as background for many theories in the philosophy of mind, cognitive science and, more specifically, for theories related to consciousness and intentionality. C&C was an early effort to show that a science of consciousness and mental content is philosophically plausible. It embraced interdisciplinary research as a pillar for the study of consciousness and mental content. Some substantive contributions of C&C are:1. An articulation of the motivation for evolutionary naturalism in treating the traditional philosophical problems of mind.
2. The first ‘teleofunctional’ theory of content.
3. The personal/subpersonal level distinction.
4. An analysis of intentionality (forerunner to the intentional stance).
5. A novel analysis of first-person “authority” in terms of logical states of the cerebral computer.
6. The first critique of pictorial models of imagination.
INVITED RESEARCHERS:
David Rosenthal (CUNY, Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Concentration in Cognitive Science).
Pete Mandik (William Paterson University of New Jersey).
Don Ross (University of Cape Town).
PUBLICATION:
Content and Consciousness 2.0. Four Decades After will be a volume to be presented to the Studies in Brain and Mind Series (Springer). The volume aims to introduce a fresh contemporary balance and a provocative analysis of the main thesis, arguments, concepts and evidence introduced in Content and Consciousness from a contemporary critical point of view. Proposed contributions should be original and unpublished. The book will finish with Dennett’s responses to the contributors.
ABOUT THE SERIES:
Studies in Brain and Mind is a Springer book series. It covers all areas in which philosophy and neuroscience intersect: philosophy of mind, philosophy of neuroscience, philosophy of psychology, philosophy of psychiatry, neurophilosophy, and neuroethics. The series has published several high quality books. The new editor and the board see the series as a great opportunity for the field, providing a venue for specialists as well as junior authors.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS:
We call for abstracts of critical papers on any of the listed substantive contributions of C&C. The proposed papers should analyze, criticize or evaluate theories, arguments, evidence and/or concepts presented in C&C.
-Deadline: 31.Oct.2011.
-Length: 500-1000 words plus five key words. Format: .doc, .rtf or .pdf.
-Abstracts should be submitted along with the name, the departmental and institutional affiliations and the contact details of the author.
-Authors will be notified of acceptance or rejection by the 20 November, 2011.
-Submission of full papers: March 2012.
-Submissions should be sent electronically to Carlos M. Muñoz-Suárez carlosmariomunozsuarez@gmail.com
