Understanding Consciousness

This book examines the nature, function, location, and scientific study of consciousness through a structured engagement with the central problems of the mind–body relationship. Max Velmans combines critical analysis of established philosophical and scientific theories with a phenomenologically grounded investigation of conscious experience. Moving from a survey of dualist, materialist, functionalist, and computational approaches to a reconstruction of the relationship among experience, brain processing, and physical reality, the work culminates in the theory of reflexive monism. Its distinctive contribution lies in demonstrating how first-person experience and third-person science may be treated as complementary forms of knowledge within a unified account of consciousness.