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Description: How do you know that you really picked up this book and didn’t just dream that you did? Is the mind nothing more than the brain? Could a computer ever be conscious? In this lively and accessible introduction to the philosophy of mind, Edward Feser tackles these and other questions, giving clear explanations of all the most important theories, from the classic accounts of Descartes and Aquinas to the latest developments in the literature on computing and cognitive science.
Using straightforward language without sacrificing philosophical depth, this guide outlines the major schools of thought and their different perspectives on consciousness, personal identity, and the mind-body problem. It takes seriously the arguments both for and against dualism -the view that there is a real distinction between mind and body-and is thus the first introductory text to reflect the growing challenge by contemporary philosophers to the dominant materialist doctrine.
Full of examples and scenarios, and featuring a glossary of key terms and chapter by chapter guides to further reading, this is a clearly-written, balanced and up-to-date introduction to one of the most popular fields in modern philosophy.
Contents: Perception • Dreams, demons, and brains in vats • Indirect realism • Skepticism • Appearance and reality, mind and matter • Materials • Tables, chairs, rocks, and trees • Reduction and supervenience • Cause and effect • Behaviorism • The identity theory • Functionalism • The burden of proof • Further reading • Qualia • The inverted spectrum • The “Chinese nation” argument • The zombie argument • The knowledge argument • Subjectivity • Property dualism • Further reading • Consciousness • Eliminativism • Representationalism and Higher-Order Theories • Russellian identity theory and neutral monism • Troubles with Russellianism • A more consistent Russellianism • Consciousness, intentionality, and subjectivity • The binding problem • Further reading • Thought • Reasons and causes • The computational/representational theory of thought • The argument from reason • The Chinese room argument • The mind-dependence of computation • Thought and consciousness • Intentionality • Naturalistic theories of meaning • Eliminativism again • The indeterminacy of the physical • Materialism, meaning, and metaphysics • Further reading • Persons • Personal identity Consequences of mechanism • Hylomorphism Thomistic dualism • Philosophy of mind and the rest of philosophy • Further reading ISBN - 9781851683765
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Pages : 204
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