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Most of the books on philosophy of mind have been published in English. But there is a small number of them in Russian. These 6 books will help people who read in Russian to learn basic things about philsophy of mind.
1. “The Conscious Mind”
This book, first published in 1996, has become one of the most prominent philosophical treatises of the end of the 20th century. Today it is impossible to find serious work on the problem of consciousness in which there would be no references to Chalmers. “The Conscious Mind” is a fascinating story about the deepest philosophical paradoxes and mysteries of consciousness. It is a provocative study in which an attempt is made to justify the “naturalistic dualism” based on the author’s thesis about the non-physical nature of consciousness and its dependence on the functional schemes in the brain. Chalmers also claims that his theory opens up new perspectives for the interpretation of quantum mechanics and suggests the possibility of conscious robots. Clarity of exposition, bold ideas, originality of thought experiments, accuracy of reasoning and wide erudition of the author of this book has made it a real gift for anyone interested in philosophy.
2. “Consciousness and Things”
“Consciousness and Things”, a new book by Vadim Vasilyev, presents a theory of consciousness labeled as a “local interactionism”. The previous work “The Hard Problem of Consciousness” was a sketch of intended solutions, here they are completely explicated. By developing his own method of phenomenological deductions and connecting it with a traditional analytic method of conceptual analysis, author takes the reader from general premises to final conclusions. He shows how it is possible to combine causal potential of consciousness with a principle of causal closure of the physical. Moreover, separating the mind-body problem into seven sequentially connected issues, Vadim Vasilyev brings us to his own solution to the problem of consciousness. Here we are dealing with a full-weight philosophic treatise: basic definitions deduced from fundamental principles, which, in turn, are derived from suggestions of the nature of consciousness. Author also tries to answer to possible criticisms of every step of his constructions. Undoubtedly, reading the book “Consciousness and Things” will be a great pleasure to those keen on philosophy.
3. “The Nature of Phenomenal Consciousness”
It’s little wonder Dmitriy Ivanov’s book is entitled “The Nature of Phenomenal Consciousness”, as it’s the phenomenal side of the conscious experience that makes discussion of consciousness so exciting and attractive for specialists from different intellectual fields.
In a polemical manner, the author discusses a variety of ways of how to explain the nature of the phenomenal experience, and even suggests an original perspective for solving “the hard problem of consciousness”. This approach makes his book an exceedingly interesting read, and encourages the reader to seek answers on questions about consciousness.
4. “The Boston Zombie: D. Dennett and his theory of consciousness”
The book is focused on the theory of consciousness by Daniel Dennett, a widely known American philosopher. The author provides critical analysis of Dennett’s ideas in the context of contemporary philosophical debates.
5. “The Stuff of Thought”
The Stuff of Thought is a revelation. In this exhilarating new book, Steven Pinker analyzes how our words relate to thoughts and to the world around us and reveals what this tells us about ourselves.
The Stuff of Thought is a book for everyone. Steven Pinker has devoted his life to studying the way we think and communicate. And language, in his hands, becomes a profound, and highly entertaining, way to shed light on every aspect of human nature.
6. “Materialism and Consciousness”
Svetlana Nagumanova’s book under the title “Materialism and Consciousness: the Analysis of the Discussion on the Nature of Consciousness in the Contemporary Analytic Philosophy” suggests the reader to immerse himself in the discussion of the materialist paradigm to explain the phenomenon of consciousness. Undoubtedly, a critical and comprehensive analysis of the conceptual difficulties of various theoretical positions is one of the main advantages of this book. Its main goal is to evaluate the research potential of these positions, as the explaining of the meaning of Consciousness, without succumbing to the temptation of an additional ontology is a difficult task in the pale of materialism. But, still, it can be solved. The author says that among all of the existing concepts of consciousness the representationalism has the greatest potential in solving the difficult problem of Consciousness. But, for now we cannot claim that it is true. Anyway, after reading this book you will find a partial answer to your question.
