Abstract

In Defense of Human Consciousness, by Joe Rychlak, is an attempt to apply a teleological theory of mind to the multifaceted phenomena of "consciousness." As with Rychlak's other writings , this volume is intellectually thorough, challenging, and well worth the time and effort needed to grasp its points. Rychlak begins by lamenting the ways that traditional approaches to psychology have eliminated any sophisticated discussion of consciousness and free will. His solution is a philosophically rigorous "enlightened return to the terminology that was jettisoned in science 300 years ago for a good reason but is now under continued repression for a bad reason " [p. xiv]