Mind in action
Bede Rundle
This text challenges the view, dominant in contemporary philosophy, that human action is driven by thoughts and desires much as a machine is made to function by the operation of physical causes.
Read Time: ~3.9 hr
The subject's point of view
by Katalin Farkas (2008)
About this book
"Descartes's philosophy has had a considerable influence on the modern conception of the mind, but many think that this influence has been largely negative. The main project of The Subject's Point of View is to argue that discarding certain elements of the Cartesian conception would be much more difficult than critics seem to allow, since it is tied to our understanding of basic notions, including the criteria for what makes someone a person, or one of us. The crucial feature of the Cartesian view defended here is not dualism - which is not adopted - but internalism. Internalism is opposed to the widely accepted externalist thesis, which states that some mental features constitutively depend on certain features of our physical and social environment. In contrast, this book defends the minority internalist view, which holds that the mind is autonomous, and though it is obviously affected by the environment, this influence is merely contingent and does not delimit what is thinkable in principle."--BOOK JACKET.
Setting / LocationGlobal
Story EraModern Era
Protagonist / CoreThe subject's point of view Lead Character
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