The Attending Mind

Carolyn Dicey Jennings

doi:10.1017/9781108164238

An ancient metaphor likens attention to an archer pulling her bow - the self directing her mind through attention. Yet both the existence of such a self, and the impact of attention on the mind, have been debated for millennia. Advancements in science mean that we now have a better understanding of what attention is and how it works, but philosophers and scientists remain divided as to its impact on the mind. This book takes a strong stance: attention is the key to the self, consciousness, perception, action, and knowledge. While it claims that we cannot perceive novel stimuli without attention, it argues that we can act on and experience the world without attention. It thus provides a new way of thinking about the mind - as something that can either shape itself through attention or engage with the world as it is given, relying on its habits and skills.

‘In this concise, lucid book … Jennings offers a reconciliation between agent-centered freedom and compatibilism. Philosophical psychology is enriched by this valuable exploration.’

J. R. Shook Source: Choice

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Contents

Frontmatter
pp i-iv

Contents
pp v-vi

Acknowledgements
pp vii-viii

1 - Introduction
pp 1-5

2 - The Philosophical Landscape on Attention
pp 6-34

3 - Attention, Mental Causation, and the Self
pp 35-74

4 - Attention, Perception, and Knowledge
pp 75-116

5 - Attention, Consciousness, and Habitual Behavior
pp 117-161

6 - Attention, Action, and Responsibility
pp 162-198

7 - Conclusion
pp 199-203

Appendix A - Mental Causation and Its Problems
pp 204-208

Appendix B - The Conceptual History of Top-Down Attention
pp 209-211

Appendix C - Top-Down Attention and the Brain
pp 212-213

Appendix D - Working Memory and Attention
pp 214-217

References
pp 218-246

Index
pp 247-252

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