1st Edition
Thinking Matter Consciousness from Aristotle to Putnam and Sartre
Thinking Matter is an original and provocative look at the nature of consciousness. While many contemporary philosophers have downplayed the significance of the body and subscribed to a brain/body dualism in human consciousness, Joseph S. Catalano argues that it is the entire fleshy body that thinks; the body of the dancer, the hands of the writer, and the eyes of the reader are not merely instruments of thought, but forms of thought itself. Calling for a thorough rethinking of philosophic traditions from Aristotle to Sartre, Catalano offers a holistic view of the bodily nature of consciousness--one that focuses on the total organic body rather than the brain alone.
Biography
Joseph S. Catalano is an internationally recognized Sartre scholar and Professor Emeritus at Kean University of at Kean University of New Jersey. He is the author of classic commentaries on Jean-Paul Sartre's Critique of Dialectical Reason and Being and Nothingness, and of Good Faith and Other Essays (1996).
"...unusual and interesting... rare and sophisticated... The writing is brisk and clear, the index and bibliography excellent. Recommended for all collections Choice."
"...a new, imaginative, and thought provoking perspective on how one is to view the world of matter...apart from the unusual clarity with which this book is written, what I found to be quite remarkable is that Catalano is at home in both the continental and analytical traditions of philosophy." -- Calvin O. Schrag, author of The Self After Postmodernity
