The Landscape of Introspection

We can introspect. We can look inwards, as it were, at our own minds and represent what is occurring there. Philosophers and psychologists have speculated about how we do this, but there has been little exploration of the wider theoretical landscape in the area. Could other beings, such as non-human animals and artificial intelligences, introspect too? What forms might their introspection take? Do some humans introspect in nonstandard ways, and can humans develop new introspective powers through techniques such as meditation?

This book, a reprint of a special issue of the Journal of Consciousness Studies, explores this neglected landscape. It opens with a target article by the editors, which proposes an ambitious research programme on possible forms of introspection and provides maps and conceptual tools to get the project under way. This is followed by fifteen commentaries from leading philosophers and cognitive scientists. Topics discussed include the experimental study of introspection, introspection in animals, LLMs, and group minds, and the effects on introspection of meditation and certain psychiatric conditions. The volume concludes with a reply by the editors, which revises and extends their original proposal.

The Landscape of Introspection offers an informed, contemporary, and challenging view of what introspection is – and could be.

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