Attention

by Wayne Wu

Attention is a fundamental feature of the mind yet has languished in the backwaters of philosophy. Recent years, however, have witnessed a resurgence of philosophical interest in attention, driven by recognition that it is closely connected to consciousness, perception, agency, thought, justification and introspection. As is becoming clear, attention has a rich philosophical significance. This is the first book to provide a systematic overview and assessment of different empirical and philosophical aspects of attention. Wayne Wu discusses the following central topics and A key feature of the book is its skilful analysis of the empirical work on attention, and how this relates to philosophy. Additional features include chapter summaries, annotated further reading and a glossary, making this an ideal starting point for anyone studying attention for the first time, as well as being suitable for more advanced students and researchers in psychology, cognitive science, and philosophy.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Psychology

314 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Dan Ust · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short book is great as both an introduction and a historical survey of the field with up to date coverage of more recent work by folks like Sebastian Watzl. Wu breaks down attention in aspects like metaphysics, epistemology, and phenomenology. There’s a whole chapter devoted to inattention blindness. Of course, he informs this with work that’s been done in psychology and neuroscience.

[Mills College Library]

153.733 W9597 2014