Consciousness is Motor

Why are we conscious? What role did this mental trait evolve to play in modulating behavior? Or is consciousness just an epiphenomenon, a useless byproduct of otherwise self-sufficient brain activity? This book offers a historical approach to these philosophical questions. It contextualizes and philosophically analyzes William James's long-overlooked work on consciousness. James's old work on consciousness is in effect discarded science-but the book shows that discarded science can yield surprising insights on issues that are still being debated today.