The Churchlands and their Critics

The influence of Patricia Churchland and Paul Churchland on contemporary philosophy and cognitive science is profound and controversial. That influence is not a function of mere philosophical fashion but, rather, of their work’s groundbreaking significance. By challenging so many prevailing doctrines concerning the nature of mind, knowledge, science, and language, the Churchlands occupy a uniquely controversial position at the center of current debate. In this collection leading figures from philosophy, cognitive physchology, and the neurosciences examine, explain, and explore the Churchlands’ work. This is then followed by extensive and detailed responses to each of the articles from the Churchlands. The Churchlands and their Critics is essential to anyone with an interest in contemporary philosophy of mind and cognitive Science.

Introduction. Part I: Essays Addressed to the Churchlands: . 1. Explanatory Pluralism and the Co–evolution of Theories in Science: Robert N McCauley (Emory University). 2. From Neurophilosophy to neurocomputation: Searching for the Cognitive Forest: Patricia Kitcher (University of California at San Diego). 3. Dealing in Futures: Folk Psychology and the Role of Representations in Cognitive Science: Andy Clark (Washington University). 4. Paul Churchland′s PDP Approach to Explanation: William G Lycan (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). 5. What should a Connectionist Philosophy of Science Look Like?: William Bechtel (Georgia State University). 6. Paul Churchland and State Space Semantics: Jerry Fodor and Ernie Lepore (Rutgers University). 7. Reply to Churchland: Jerry Fodor and Ernie Lepore (Rutgers University). 8. Images and subjectivity: Neurobiological Trials and Tribulations: Antonio R Damasio and Hanna Damasio (University of California at San Diego). 9. Neurophilosophy: Without a Hyphen Already: John Marshall and Jennifer Gurd (University of Oxford). 10. The Moral Network: Owen Flanagan (Duke University). Part II: Replies From the Churchlands A: The Future of Psychology, Folk and Scientific: . 1. McCauley′s Demand for a Co–level Competitor. 2. Connectionism as Psychology. 3. Kitcher′s Empirical Challenge to PSC: Has There Been Progress in Neurophilosophy?. 4. Clark′s Connectionist Defense of Folk Psychology. B: The Impact of Neural Network Models on the Philosophy of Science:. 5. On the Nature of Explanation: William Lycan. 6. Bechtel on the Proper Form of a Connectionist Philosophy of Science. C: Semantics in a New Vein:. 7. Fodor and Lepore: State–Space Semantics and Meaning Holism. 8. Second Reply to Fodor and Lepore. D: Consciousness and Methodology:. 9. Neuropsychology and Brain Organization: The Damasios. 10. Conceptual Analysis and Neuropsychology: John Marshall and Jennifer Gurd. 11. Do We Propose to Eliminate Consciousness?E: Moral Psychology and the Rebirth of Moral Theory:. 12. Flanagan on Moral Knowledge.

Paul Churchland is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego. H is the author of Science Realism and the Plasticity of Mind (1979 ). Matter and Consciousness (1988), A Neurocomputational Perspective (1989), and The Engine of Reason, the Seat of the Soul (1995). Patricia Churchland is a Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego, and Adjunct Professor of Salk Institute. She is the author of Neurophilosophy (1986) and (with T.J. Sejnowski) The Computational Brain (1992). Robert N. McCauley is Massee–Martin/NEH Professor of Philosophy and Adjunct Professor of Psychology and Anthropology at Emery University. He has published numerous articles and reviews in Epistemology and the philosophies of science, social science, and psychology. He is the author (with E. Thomas Lawson) of Rethinking Religion (1990).