Historical Introduction to the Philosphy of Mind

This book presents historical and contemporary readings, together with detailed commentary, to outline and explain the development of philosophical thinking about the mind. This is an expanded and revised second edition of a text that combines primary readings with detailed commentary. The book has two aims: to present the philosophy of mind from a historical perspective so that the theories in the field are seen to emerge in the process of solving problems with earlier theories; and to give the students access to the original source material together with commentaries that explain the technical terms and jargon, outline the argumentative structure, and place the texts in their historical context.

The second edition adds several new chapters covering recent issues in the field, and revises earlier chapters to improve the readings and update the commentaries. The readings and commentaries begin with Plato and Aristotle, and then explain the implications of the scientific revolution for philosophy of mind. The philosophies of the early modern period include Cartesian dualism, Hobbesian materialism, and Berkeley's idealism.

The second part of the book surveys the developments in philosophy of mind in the twentieth century, including behaviourism, identity theory, and functionalism. In the third part, the readings and commentary survey contemporary problems in philosophy of mind, including artificial intelligence, consciousness, intentional semantics, and mental causation.