This book, which is historical, dialectical and opinionated, presents the mind-body problem as a debate between materialists about the mind and their opponents. It argues for a certain point of view, in particular for a Materialist solution to the problem.

Autorentext

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

Klappentext

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.

Inhalt

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]