Introspection: First-Person Access in Science and Agency

— —

Maja Spener (Associate Professor in Philosophy, Associate Professor in Philosophy, University of Birmingham)

Introspection

First-Person Access in Science and Agency

Maja Spener (Associate Professor in Philosophy, Associate Professor in Philosophy, University of Birmingham)

$164.95

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Oxford University Press
31 January 2024

Philosophy: epistemology & theory of knowledge; Philosophy of mind; Cognition & cognitive psychology

What is introspection? Does introspection deliver theoretically valuable information about the mind? There is a long history in philosophy and psychology of using introspection to gather data about the mind. Introspection is often held to constitute our best and only direct access to consciousness and hence to be essential to any investigation of the conscious mind. Equally longstanding and widespread, however, are critical concerns that introspection is highly susceptible to interference, which, together with its privacy, renders it unreliable as a source of data about the mind.

Maja Spener offers an understanding of introspection that clarifies its epistemic importance in theorising about the mind. In particular, seemingly overwhelming concerns about the reliability of introspection are transformed into something methodologically more tractable. Central to the approach put forward in the book is the distinction between introspection as inquiry and introspection as mental capacity - between introspective method and introspective access. The first part of the book articulates, defends, and applies a novel framework for the systematic assessment of the potential and limitations of introspective methods. The framework is historically motivated, drawing on insights from key figures in early scientific psychology (especially Wilhelm Wundt, William James, and Georg Elias Müller) whose used and discussed introspective methods extensively. The second part of the book develops a composite pluralism about introspective access, showing how different modes of introspective access fit into the common sense and scientific pictures of our minds. Key to this pluralist account is the explanatory role introspection plays in our agency.

By: Maja Spener (Associate Professor in Philosophy Associate Professor in Philosophy University of Birmingham)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 222mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 17mm
Weight: 406g
ISBN: 9780198867449
ISBN 10: 0198867441
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 31 January 2024
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Maja Spener is a philosopher of mind and psychology/cognitive science. She studied PPE at St Hilda's College, Oxford and obtained her PhD at King's College London in 2003. She held a Jacobsen Research Fellowship at UCL, a postdoctoral fellowship in Antwerp, a lectureship at the Faculty of Philosophy at Oxford University, and a Junior Research Fellowship at St Catherine's College, Oxford. She is currently associate professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham.