Minds Landscape: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind

Mind′s Landscape is an engaging introduction to the philosophical study of mind and a persuasive account of how best to understand the nature of mental phenomena. It serves as both a textbook and a contribution to the philosophy of mind. Its engaging narrative style will appeal to students, instructors, and general readers alike.

This book starts by offering a sketch of the most prominent features of mind. It then examines the often puzzling consequences of our conception of the mind, and finally delves into the deeply perplexing issue of the mind′s place in the world described by natural science. Guided by the central metaphor of the mind as a landscape, and aided by illustrations, students will follow the narrative easily from common questions about the mind to some of the most sophisticated current debates in the field. More advanced audiences will come away with a new appreciation – and new questions – of one of the most exciting areas in contemporary philosophy.

Preface.

Introduction.

Part I: Surveying the Territory:.

1. The Mental Landscape.

Part II: Digging Deeper: .

2. Attitude, Experience and Act.

3. Folk Psychology and Folk.

4. The Marks of the Mental.

Part III: Bedrock: .

5. Science and the Mind.

6. Identity.

7. Functionalism.

8. Objections.

9. Division and Elimination.

Further Reading.

Index.

Samuel Guttenplan is a Reader in Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London. He is the author of The Languages of Logic (second edition. Blackwell, 1997), editor of A Companion to the Philosophy of Mind (Blackwell, 1994) and executive editor of the journal Mind & Language.

"This book is genuinely thought–provoking and enjoyable to read. It is clearly written by a well–informed philosopher and it is beautifully organized in a way that leads the novice naturally from basic questions to technical issues in philosophy of mind." Lynne Rudder Baker, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

"A reliable up–to–date introductory survey of contemporary discussion in the field" Michael Morris, University of Sussex, THES, 1/6/01