Explanation of Behaviour

A vitally important work of philosophical anthropology and a devastating criticism of the theory of behaviourism. Includes a new Preface by the author and a new Foreword by Alva Noë, setting the book in philosophical and historical context.

List of contents

Foreword to the Routledge Classics Edition Alva Noë Preface to the Routledge Classics Edition Charles Taylor Part 1: Explanation by Purpose 1. Purpose and Teleology 2. Action and Desire 3. Intentionality 4. The Data Language 5. The Problem of Verification Part 2: Theory and Fact 6. The Determinants of Learning 7. What Is Learned? 8. Spatial Orientation 9. The Direction of Behaviour 10. The Ends of Behaviour 11. Conclusion Index

About the author

Charles Taylor is Professor Emeritus at McGill University, Canada. The author of many books on social and political philosophy, the philosophy of mind and language and the history of philosophy, he is one of the best-known and widely read philosophers in the world. He is also a prominent figure in Canadian politics and is a prominent voice in debates about liberalism and multiculturalism.

Summary

A vitally important work of philosophical anthropology and a devastating criticism of the theory of behaviourism. Includes a new Preface by the author and a new Foreword by Alva Noë, setting the book in philosophical and historical context.

Additional text

"A vehemently interesting book. The philosophical part displays the most remarkable grasp of the contemporary philosophical situation and its historical roots... There is also a satisfactory absence of the tones and attitudes of any particular philosophical school." - Elizabeth Anscombe, The New Statesman
"A most valuable and systematic account of a major problem in the explanation of behaviour. His arguments are both powerful and of the greatest possible general interest." - Times Literary Supplement

Product details

• Authors: Charles Taylor
• Assisted by: Alva Noë (Foreword)
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.05.2021
• EAN: 9780367705220
• ISBN: 978-0-367-70522-0
• No. of pages: 302
• Series: Routledge Classics
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: general, reference works; PHILOSOPHY / General, Social Theory, PHILOSOPHY / Mind & Body, PHILOSOPHY / Religious, PHILOSOPHY / Ethics & Moral Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / Social Theory, Ethics & moral philosophy, Ethics and moral philosophy, Western philosophy from c 1800, Philosophy of religion, Western Philosophy, From C 1900 -