1st Edition

The Mind-body Problem An Opinionated Introduction

By D. M. Armstrong Copyright 1999
    184 Pages
    by Routledge

    188 Pages
    by Routledge

    The relation of mind to body has been argued about by philosophers for centuries. The Mind-Body Problem: An Opinionated Introduction presents the problem as a debate between materialists about the mind and their opponents. After examining the views of Descartes, Hume, and Thomas Huxley the debate is traced through the twentieth century to present day. The emphasis is always on the arguments used and the way one position develops from another. By the end of the book the reader is afforded both a grasp of the state of the controversy and how we got there.

    Preface -- Introduction -- Descartes' Dualism -- Hume's Bundle Dualism -- T. H. Huxley's Epiphenomenalism -- Ryle's Rejection of Two Realms -- The Identity Theory -- The Causal Theory—Armstrong and Lewis -- The Eliminativist Theory -- Functionalism -- Consciousness -- The Sensible Qualities -- Intentionality -- Appendix "On the Hypothesis that Animals are Automata, and its History" by Thomas Huxley [1874]

    Biography

    D. M. Armstrong is emeritus professor in the School of Philosophy at the University of Sydney.