Synopses & Reviews
The philosophy of mind has long been part of the core philosophy curriculum, and this book is the classic, comprehensive survey of the subject. Designed as an introduction to the field for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students,
Philosophy of Mind focuses on the mindand#150;body problem and related issues, some touching on the status of psychology and cognitive science.
The third edition has been thoroughly updated throughout to reflect developments of the past decade, and it is the only text of its kind that provides a serious and respectful treatment of substance dualism. This edition also includes two new chapters on the nature of consciousness and the status of consciousness. Throughout the text, author Jaegwon Kim allows readers to come to their own terms with the central problems of the mind. At the same time, Kimand#8217;s emerging views are on display and serve to move the discussion forward. Comprehensive, clear, and fair, Philosophy of Mind is a model of philosophical exposition and a significant contribution to the field.
Review
and#147;Kimand#8217;s book is the best general survey of metaphysics of mind. It brims with arresting arguments and lucid points of exposition. Kimand#8217;s own philosophical judgment is not suppressed, but he gives sympathetic accounts of opposing views. Perhaps no other text accessible to undergraduates is so often consulted by professional philosophers. Most chapters have been augmented in this third edition, but its most distinctive feature is its expanded discussion of consciousness.and#8221;
andmdash;Bernard W. Kobes, Arizona State University
Praise for Previous Editions:
and#147;Like the highly acclaimed earlier edition, this book provides an extremely useful, state-of-the-art introduction to the philosophy of mind. Thanks to his incomparably lucid style, the author is able to discuss the issues at greater depth than is generally attempted in an introductory text, thus also providing a very accessible introduction to his own challenging and influential views on the mind-body problem. Really a wonderful book, useful to students and researchers alike.and#8221;
andmdash;Ausonio Marras, University of Western Ontario
and#147;An introductory survey to philosophy of mind, this work is impressive equally for its clarity and depth as an overview and its forcefulness as an original contribution to its subject.and#8221;
andmdash;Choice
and#147;I really cannot say enough about the quality of this book. It is the work of a top-flight original philosopher adept at explaining difficult issues with remarkable clarity. An admirable textbook, it represents a notable philosophical achievement as well.and#8221;
andmdash;John Heil, Davidson College
and#147;Kim is one of the most influential philosophers of mindand#133;and it is no surprise that Philosophy of Mind exemplifies the sort of clarity of exposition and familiarity with the issues we have come to expect from himand#133;.Kimand#8217;s book is an excellent workand#133;.It would contribute to a fine course in philosophy of mind.and#8221;
andmdash;Philosophia Christi
Synopsis
This book explores a range of issues in the philosophy of mind, with the mind-body problem as the main focus. It serves as a stimulus to the reader to engage with the problems of the mind and try to come to terms with them, and examines Descartes's mind-body dualism.
Synopsis
and#160;A newly revised edition of the classic bestseller, focusing on the mindandndash;body problem and related issues, presented with a remarkable combination of clarity, rigor, and accessibility
About the Author
Jaegwon Kim is William Perry Faunce Professor of Philosophy at Brown University. He is the author of
Supervenience and Mind;
Mind in a Physical World;
Physicalism, or Something Near Enough;
Essays in the Metaphysics of Mind; and many important papers on the philosophy of mind, metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophy of science.
Table of Contents
Preface 1. Introduction
What Is Philosophy of Mind?
Metaphysical Preliminaries
Mind-Body Supervenience
Materialism and Physicalism
Varieties of Mental Phenomena
Is There a and#147;Mark of the Mentaland#8221;?
For Further Reading
Notes
2. Mind as Immaterial Substance: Descartesand#8217;s Dualism
Descartesand#8217;s Interactionist Substance Dualism
Why Minds and Bodies Are Distinct: Some Arguments
Princess Elisabeth Against Descartes
The and#147;Pairing Problemand#8221;: Another Causal Argument
Immaterial Minds in Space?
Substance Dualism and Property Dualism
For Further Reading
Notes
3. Mind and Behavior: Behaviorism
The Cartesian Theater and the and#147;Beetle in the Boxand#8221;
What Is Behavior?
Logical Behaviorism: A Positivist Argument
A Behavioral Translation of and#147;Paul Has a Toothacheand#8221;
Difficulties with Behavioral Definitions
Do Pains Entail Pain Behavior?
Ontological Behaviorism
The Real Relationship Between Pain and Pain Behavior
Behaviorism in Psychology
Why Behavior Matters to Mind
For Further Reading
Notes
4. Mind as the Brain: The Psychoneural Identity Theory
Mind-Brain Correlations
Making Sense of Mind-Brain Correlations
The Argument from Simplicity
Explanatory Arguments for Psychoneural Identity
An Argument from Mental Causation
Against Psychoneural Identity Theory
Reductive and Nonreductive Physicalism
For Further Reading
Notes
5. Mind as a Computing Machine: Machine Functionalism
Multiple Realizability and the Functional Conception of Mind
Functional Properties and Their Realizers: Definitions
Functionalism and Behaviorism
Turing Machines
Physical Realizers of Turing Machines
Machine Functionalism: Motivations and Claims
Machine Functionalism: Further Issues
Can Machines Think? The Turing Test
Computationalism and the and#147;Chinese Roomand#8221;
For Further Reading
Notes
6. Mind as a Causal System: Causal-Theoretical Functionalism
The Ramsey-Lewis Method
Choosing an Underlying Psychology
Functionalism as Physicalism: Psychological Reality
Objections and Difficulties
Roles Versus Realizers: The Status of Cognitive Science
For Further Reading
Notes
7. Mental Causation
Agency and Mental Causation
Mental Causation, Mental Realism, and Epiphenomenalism
Psychophysical Laws and and#147;Anomalous Monismand#8221;
Is Anomalous Monism a Form of Epiphenomenalism?
Counterfactuals to the Rescue?
Physical Causal Closure and the and#147;Exclusion Argumentand#8221;
The and#147;Supervenience Argumentand#8221; and Epiphenomenalism
Further Issues: The Extrinsicness of Mental States
For Further Reading
Notes
8. Mental Content
Interpretation Theory
The Causal-Correlational Approach: Informational Semantics
Misrepresentation and the Teleological Approach
Narrow Content and Wide Content: Content Externalism
The Metaphysics of Wide Content States
Is Narrow Content Possible?
Two Problems for Content Externalism
For Further Reading
Notes
9. What Is Consciousness?
Some Views on Consciousness
Nagel and His Inscrutable Bats
Phenomenal Consciousness and Access Consciousness
Consciousness and Subjectivity
Does Consciousness Involve Higher-Order Perception or Thought?
Transparency of Experience and Qualia Representationalism
For Further Reading
Notes
10. Consciousness and the Mind-Body Problem
The and#147;Explanatory Gapand#8221; and the and#147;Hard Problemand#8221;
Does Consciousness Supervene on Physical Properties?
Closing the Explanatory Gap: Reduction and Reductive Explanation
Functional Analysis and Reductive Explanation
Consciousness and Brain Science
What Mary, the Super Vision Scientist, Didnand#8217;t Know
The Limits of Physicalism
For Further Reading
Notes
References
Index