Such hopes are usually vain. New readers in the field should not be bothered with irrelevant technical and specialised language. What is important is that main issues are presented and that a new reader will understand what ideologies, points of view, and points of debate establish the forcefields between competing theories. In order to provide clarity, Churchland structures the book in chapters, each dealing with a specific point of view towards the matter at hand. This ontological question deals primarily with the mind-body dualism.
Dualists claim that the mind is a special 'thing' quite separate from the body.
Materialists claim that there is nothing but the brain, and all consciousness should be sought there. Churchland identifies nine theories that deal with this question. Cartesian dualism, popular dualism, epiphenomenalism, interactionist property dualism, and elemental-property dualism. Churchland introduced the first two and discusses in-depth the last one, presenting arguments pro and contra. The second question is dealt with in depth, and the current state of thought is compared to traditional views.