Mind-Body Problem and Metaphysics - An Argument From Consciousness to Mental Substance

This book evaluates the widespread preference in philosophy of mind for varieties of property dualism over other alternatives to physicalism. It takes the standard motivations for property dualism as a starting point and argues that these lead directly to nonphysical substances resembling the soul of traditional metaphysics.

List of contents

Introduction 1. Why Does Everyone Hate the Soul? 2. The Decline of Substance Dualism and the Substance-Property Distinction 3. A Defence of the Independence Definition of Substance 4. Four Theories of Mind and the Place of Russellian Monism 5. The Strangeness of Property Dualism 6. Parity of Reasoning Demands Nonphysical Substances 7. The Consequences of the Parity Argument for Non-Physical Substances Conclusion

About the author

Ralph Stefan Weir is Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Lincoln and Associate Member of the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford. His recent publications include "Bring Back Substances!" (Review of Metaphysics, 2021), "Can a Post-Galilean Science of Consciousness Avoid Substance Dualism?" (Journal of Consciousness Studies, 2021), and "Does Idealism Solve the Problem of Consciousness?" (Routledge Handbook of Idealism and Immaterialism, 2021).

Summary

This book evaluates the widespread preference in philosophy of mind for varieties of property dualism over other alternatives to physicalism. It takes the standard motivations for property dualism as a starting point and argues that these lead directly to nonphysical substances resembling the soul of traditional metaphysics.

Product details

• Authors: Ralph Stefan Weir, Ralph Stefan (University of Lincoln Weir
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 28.11.2024
• EAN: 9781032457697
• ISBN: 978-1-0-3245769-7
• No. of pages: 178
• Series: Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Philosophy > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book > Philosophy, religion > Philosophy: general, reference works; PHILOSOPHY / General, PHILOSOPHY / Mind & Body, PHILOSOPHY / Metaphysics, Philosophy of Mind, Psychology, Philosophy: metaphysics & ontology, Philosophy: metaphysics and ontology, Western philosophy: Enlightenment