New Books in Psychology Eric Schwitzgebel, “Perplexities of Consciousness” (MIT Press, 2011)
Jun 15, 2011
Eric Schwitzgebel, a philosophy professor at UC Riverside and author of "Perplexities of Consciousness," dives deep into the mysteries of our conscious experiences. He argues we often know less about our perceptions than we think, questioning whether we even dream in color or black and white. Schwitzgebel critiques traditional introspection, discusses historical theories of consciousness, and examines how sociocultural factors influence our mental imagery and perception. It's a thought-provoking exploration into the reliability of our own awareness.
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Children Miss Their Own Thoughts
- John Flavell's experiments showed many 4–5-year-olds denied thinking about a bell they had just heard.
- Eric Schwitzgebel uses these findings to question adult introspective superiority.
Dream Reports Mirror Dominant Media
- People's reports about dreaming color track dominant media exposure, not necessarily actual dream content.
- Schwitzgebel argues we analogize dreams to familiar media and misattribute their features.
Visual Experience Versus Flat Images
- Many infer projective distortions like elliptical coins by analogizing vision to flat pictures.
- Schwitzgebel shows historical and cultural evidence undermines that flat-image analogy.
