Coming Fall 2023: The Substance of Consciousness
May 23, 2023
In The Substance of Consciousness, Brandon Rickabaugh and I deliver a unique and powerful defense of contemporary substance dualism.
Robert C. Koons, noted professor of philosophy at University of Texas, Austin, finds the book "to be the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and sophisticated defense of substance dualism available today."
Our book makes the claim that the human person is an embodied fundamental, immaterial, and unifying substance. We offer a multidisciplinary approach, exploring areas of philosophy, cognitive science, neuroscience, and the sociology of mind-body beliefs
We seek to present the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and rigorous non-edited work on substance dualism in the field, as well as a detailed history of how property and substance dualism have been presented and evaluated over the last 150 years.
Alongside developing new and updated positive arguments for substance dualism, we also discuss key metaphysical notions and distinctions that inform the examination of substance dualism and its alternatives.
Koons continues:
[Rickabaugh and Moreland] tackle quite successfully every anti-dualist argument in the literature, demonstrating both the variety of options available to dualists and the fruitfulness of the dualist framework for future research, both scientific and philosophical. Especially impressive is their skill in drawing on Aristotelian, scholastic, and 19th century sources (Brentano, Husserl) to develop an attractive synthesis of dualism with hylomorphism. They bring to philosophy of mind theoretical resources, including the metaphysics of mereology, that are badly needed in today’s debates.
We think this unique volume will be perfect for professional philosophers, and also earn a place in the libraries of consciousness researchers, philosophical theologians, and religious studies scholars.
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