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Imaginative cases, or what might be called puzzles and other thought experiments, play a central role in philosophy of mind. The real world also furnishes philosophers with an ample supply of such puzzles.
This volume collects 50 of the most important historical and contemporary cases in philosophy of mind and describes their significance. The authors divide them into five sections: consciousness and dualism; physicalist theories and the metaphysics of mind; content, intentionality, and representation; perception, imagination, and attention; and persons, personal identity, and the self. Each chapter provides background, describes a central case or cases, discusses the relevant literature, and suggests further readings. Philosophy of Mind: 50 Puzzles, Paradoxes, and Thought Experiments promises to be a useful teaching tool as well as a handy resource for anyone interested in the area.
Key Features:
- Offers stand-alone chapters, each presented in an identical format:
- Background
- The Case
- Discussion
- Recommended Reading
- Each chapter is self-contained, allowing students to quickly understand an issue and giving instructors flexibility in assigning readings to match the themes of the course.
- Additional pedagogical features include a general volume introduction as well as smaller introductions to each of the five sections and a glossary at the end of the book.
List of contents
Part I: Consciousness and Dualism
Part II: Physicalist Theories and the Metaphysics of Mind
Part III: Content, Intentionality, and Representation
Part IV: Perception, Imagination, and Attention
Part V: Persons, Personal Identity, and the Self
About the author
Torin Alter is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Alabama, USA. Most of his publications concern consciousness and the mind-body problem, including
The Matter of Consciousness: From the Knowledge Argument to Russellian Monism (Oxford UP, 2023) and
A Dialogue on Consciousness (Oxford UP, 2009; co-written with Robert J. Howell).
Robert J. Howell is Yasser El-Sayed Chair of Philosophy at Rice University, USA. He has published extensively in the philosophy of mind and is the author of
Self-Awareness and the Elusive Subject (Oxford UP, 2023) and
Consciousness and the Limits of Objectivity (Oxford UP, 2013). With Torin Alter, he has co-authored
A Dialogue on Consciousness (Oxford UP, 2009) and
The God Dialogues (Oxford UP, 2011).
Amy Kind is the Russell K. Pitzer Professor of Philosophy at Claremont McKenna College, USA. She has published extensively in the philosophy of mind, with much of her work taking up issues relating to imagination. She has also authored and edited numerous books, including
Philosophy of Mind: The Basics (Routledge, 2020).
Summary
Imaginative cases, or what might be called puzzles and other thought experiments, play a central role in philosophy of mind. The real world also furnishes philosophers with an ample supply of such puzzles.
