The Substance of Consciousness: A Comprehensive Defense of Contemporary Substance Dualism

by J.P. Moreland, Brandon Rickabaugh

A singularly powerful and rigorous argument in favor of modern substance dualism In The Substance of A Comprehensive Defense of Contemporary Substance Dualism , two distinguished philosophers deliver a unique and powerful defense of contemporary substance dualism, which makes the claim that the human person is an embodied fundamental, immaterial, and unifying substance. Multidisciplinary in scope, the book explores areas of philosophy, cognitive science, neuroscience, and the sociology of mind-body beliefs. The authors present the most comprehensive, up-to-date, and rigorous non-edited work on substance dualism in the field, as well as a detailed history of how property and substance dualism have been presented and evaluated over the last 150 years. Alongside developing new and updated positive arguments for substance dualism, they also discuss key metaphysical notions and distinctions that inform the examination of substance dualism and its alternatives. Readers will also Perfect for professional philosophers, The Substance of Consciousness will also earn a place in the libraries of consciousness researchers, philosophical theologians, and religious studies scholars.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

432 pages, Paperback

Published October 13, 2023

About the author

J.P. Moreland is the Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University in La Mirada, California. He has four earned degrees: a B.S. in chemistry from the University of Missouri, a Th.M. in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary, an M. A. in philosophy from the University of California-Riverside, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Southern California.

He has co-planted three churches, spoken and debated on over 175 college campuses around the country, and served with Campus Crusade for Christ for 10 years. For eight years, he served as a bioethicist for PersonaCare Nursing Homes, Inc. headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.

His ideas have been covered by both popular religious and non-religious outlets, including the New Scientist and PBS’s “Closer to Truth,” Christianity Today and WORLD magazine. He has authored or co-authored 30 books, and published over 70 articles in journals, which include Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, American Philosophical Quarterly, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Metaphilosophy, Philosophia Christi, and Faith and Philosophy.

Reviews

[Chad A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a brilliant and important book. I hope to be able to understand it someday.

[Tzvi Kilov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written for philosophers (i.e., badly), but at least occasionally fascinating. A very thorough contemporary defense of Substance Dualism, that is, of the idea that we human beings have immaterial souls and material bodies (radical stuff). This idea is making quite the comeback.

Because it is so dense and technical, even in vocabulary, it's hard to recommend to beginners to these topics. My favorite chapters were the ones on libertarian free will and the three defending introspection and direct self-awareness in philosophy. Hey, wait a second--we all have those! Power to the people.

[Max Stirner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good argument for at least the existence of a simple, fundamental soul (which could be in line with idealism as well). Very interesting detours into a variety of topics including, extensively, ontology. Sometimes I found myself disagreeing with viewpoints (mainly personal identity and debates within substance dualism) and some points were slightly repetitive, but this was seldom the case. Great book, 9/10.

[Andrew Boyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite technical but legit.

[Jeremy I Skipper · Rating 5 out of 5]

🎄🪇 A must read for neuroscientists.