Philosophy of Mind

Alongside the 20th-century scientists who revolutionised our understanding of the relationship between the mind and the brain stand a group of philosophers. By identifying these thinkers and exploring their arguments in turn, an inviting, deceptively linear story is told about the philosophy of mind.

From the separation of the mind and physical world in the 1940s and the association of mental characteristics with behaviour, through to questions about pain, inner states and the Turing machine, we are introduced to Edmund Husserl, Gilbert Ryle, Hilary Putnam, Daniel Dennett, Patricia Churchland and the other leading lights who changed the direction of the philosophy of mind with each decade.

In this new 2nd editrion edition, new chapters are added on William James, Susanna Siegel, Ruth Garrett Millikan and Tyler Burgre. We come to see how the philosophy of mind is refreshed and reshaped, by streams of influence from psychology, neuroscience, and Buddhism and a cast of characters who continue to shape its progress into the 21st century.