{"product_id":"the-mysterious-flame-conscious-minds-in-a-material-world-9780465014231","title":"The Mysterious Flame: Conscious Minds in a Material World","description":"Is consciousness nothing more than brain tissue, as Daniel Dennett argues in his best-selling \u003ci\u003eConsciousness Explained\u003c\/i\u003e ? Or, as others claim, is it a fundamental reality like space, time, and matter? In recent years the nature of consciousness -- our immediately known experiences -- has taken its place as the most profound problem that science faces. Now in this brilliant and thoroughly accessible new book Colin McGinn takes a provocative position on this perplexing problem. Arguing that we can never truly \"know\" consciousness -- that the human intellect is simply not equipped to unravel this mystery -- he demonstrates that accepting this limitation in fact opens up a whole new field of investigation. Indeed, he asserts, consciousness is the best place from which to begin to understand the internal make-up of human intelligence, to investigate our cognitive strengths and weaknesses, and to explore the possibility of machine minds. In elegant prose, McGinn explores the implications of this Mysterian position -- such as the new value it gives to the power of dreams and of introspection -- and challenges the reader with intriguing questions about the very nature of our minds and brains.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eColin McGinn\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of Philosophy at Rutgers University. He is author of several books, including \u003ci\u003eThe Character of the Mind; Moral Literacy; Minds and Bodies: Philosophers and Their Ideas; Ethics, Evil, and Fiction\u003c\/i\u003e; and \u003ci\u003eMental Content\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Basic Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50917763121426,"sku":"9780465014231","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d66706b8-b409-4520-986f-4efac489f11d.jpg?v=1738869768","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-mysterious-flame-conscious-minds-in-a-material-world-9780465014231","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}