New York, 2002
This is a comprehensive collection of readings in the philosophy of mind, ranging from Descartes to the leading edge of the discipline. Extensive selections cover foundations, the nature of consciousness, and the nature of mental content.
The oddness of epiphenomenalism is exacerbated by the fact that the relationship between consciousness and reports about consciousness seems to be something of a lucky coincidence, on the epiphenomenalist view. After all, if psychophysical laws are independent of physical evolution, then there will be possible worlds where physical evolution is the same as ours but the psychophysical laws are very different, so that there is a radical mismatch between reports and experiences. It seems lucky that we are in a world whose psychophysical laws match them up so well. In response, an epiphenomenalist might try to make the case that these laws are somehow the most “natural” and are to be expected; but there is at least a significant burden of proof here.