ABSTRACT
Previous chapters have implicitly assumed the importance of further scrutiny of concepts of mentality and consciousness to issues discussed so far in this book. Contemporary research tends to explore these questions either in their present manifestations or in relation to a narrow specific range that is a result of past Eurocentric perspectives, such as drawing on the Classics or Greek culture. This continues to be of particular value; yet alternative ancient sources and worldviews have bearing on our contemporary concerns, and could make a considerable difference to how we shape fundamental questions and their answers. For example would an as-yet metaphysical philosophy of ancient consciousness based on, for example, Sumerian narratives result in a concept of the mind different from those that hold sway now? As Gibson (2000a) showed, a Freudian viewpoint is far from the complete picture of the Near Eastern world’s concern with mentality and symbol. Beyond such issues of course is the question of whether or not such a topic as ‘philosophy of mind’ is just one philosophy that encapsulates what it is to be the mind, or if philosophy of ‘mind’ in different cultures will produce a plurality of philosophies. Even if the answer to such a query is in the negative, research investigating the impact of hitherto philosophically uninvestigated ancient data could affect the shape of certain issues, and give grounds for supposing that there are neglected ancient symbols contributing to the formation of the unconscious.
