Consciousness and the World

The author presents his theory of consciousness, one of the most fascinating but puzzling aspects of human existence. He investigates what consciousness is and how it engages, through perception, with the world. Whatever mystery there may be about origins of consciousness, O'Shaughnessy suggests that there is no mystery about what it is. It is his contention that consciousness consists in a closely knit complex of occurrent mental phenomena and powers with thinking and self-knowledge at the centre - and nothing else. He proceeds to give a philosophical elucidation of its nature, analysing it into its constituent psychological parts. He argues that consciousness has a determinate character as an internal but world-oriented phenomenon, and that there exist logically necessary and sufficient conditions for its presence Though consciousness is an internal state, perception is its very foundation, being the source of the material with which the mind develops, and essential to the processes whereby it does so.

Brian O'Shaughnessy's book is exceptionally ambitious and wide-ranging...the richness of OShaughnessy's analyses of various states of consciousness and the complexities of the interrelations which he exhibits between the key concepts...this monumental work is a welcome change from the unproductive obsession with abstract theorizing which nowadays has so many in its grip.

Brian O'Shaughnessy is Emeritus Reader in Philosophy at King's College London.