Matter and Consciousness, third edition

by Paul M. Churchland

Overview

An updated edition of an authoritative text showing the relevance for philosophy of mind of theoretical and experimental results in the natural sciences.

In Matter and Consciousness, Paul Churchland presents a concise and contemporary overview of the philosophical issues surrounding the mind and explains the main theories and philosophical positions that have been proposed to solve them. Making the case for the relevance of theoretical and experimental results in neuroscience, cognitive science, and artificial intelligence for the philosophy of mind, Churchland reviews current developments in the cognitive sciences and offers a clear and accessible account of the connections to philosophy of mind.

For this third edition, the text has been updated and revised throughout. The changes range from references to the iPhone's "Siri" to expanded discussions of the work of such contemporary philosophers as David Chalmers, John Searle, and Thomas Nagel. Churchland describes new research in evolution, genetics, and visual neuroscience, among other areas, arguing that the philosophical significance of these new findings lies in the support they tend to give to the reductive and eliminative versions of materialism.

Matter and Consciousness, written by the most distinguished theorist and commentator in the field, offers an authoritative summary and sourcebook for issues in philosophy of mind. It is suitable for use as an introductory undergraduate text.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780262316576
Publisher:	MIT Press
Publication date:	08/16/2013
Series:	The MIT Press
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	611,303
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Paul M. Churchland is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of The Engine of Reason, the Seat of the Soul, Matter and Consciousness: A Contemporary Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind (both published by the MIT Press), and other books.

Table of Contents

Preface to the 2013 Edition vii

Preface to the 1988 Edition ix

Preface to the 1984 Edition xi

1 What Is This Book About? 1

2 The Ontological Problem (the Mind-Body Problem) 11

1 Dualism 11

2 Philosophical Behaviorism 36

3 Reductive Materialism (the Identity Theory) 40

4 Functionalism 63

5 Eliminative Materialism 73

3 The Semantical Problem 87

1 Definition by Inner Ostension 87

2 Philosophical Behaviorism 91

3 The Theoretical Network Thesis and Folk Psychology 93

4 Intentionality and the Propositional Attitudes 103

4 The Epistemological Problem 111

1 The Problem of Other Minds 111

2 The Problem of Self-Consciousness 119

5 The Methodological Problem 135

1 Idealism and Phenomenology 135

2 Methodological Behaviorism 142

3 The Cognitive/Computational Approach 147

4 Methodological Materialism 153

6 Artificial Intelligence 157

1 Computers: Some Elementary Concepts 160

2 Programming Intelligence: The Piecemeal Approach 167

7 Neuroscience 191

1 Neuroanatomy: The Evolutionary Background 191

2 Neurophysiology and Neural Organization 201

3 Neuropsychology 221

4 Cognitive Neurobiology 226

5 Al Again: Computer Models of Parallel Distributed Processing 241

8 Expanding Our Perspective 261

1 The Distribution of Intelligence in the Universe 261

2 The Expansion of Introspective Consciousness 278

Index 283

What People are Saying About This

Times Higher Education Supplement - Margaret Boden

To read this book with attention is not just to find out about philosophy, but to do it. Churchland has written the best introduction available,for students and for general readers.

Ned Block

The book is superb as an introductory text. Difficult matters are treated from an introductory perspective gracefully, interestingly, and with remarkably little in the way of distorting simplification. My prediction is that the word about this book will spread, and it will soon be a standard textbook.

Endorsement

The book is superb as an introductory text. Difficult matters are treated from an introductory perspective gracefully, interestingly, and with remarkably little in the way of distorting simplification. My prediction is that the word about this book will spread, and it will soon be a standard textbook.

—Ned Block, New York University

From the Publisher

The book is superb as an introductory text. Difficult matters are treated from an introductory perspective gracefully, interestingly, and with remarkably little in the way of distorting simplification. My prediction is that the word about this book will spread, and it will soon be a standard textbook.

—Ned Block, New York University

Editorial Reviews

To read this book with attention is not just to find out about philosophy, but to do it. Churchland has written the best introduction available, for students and for general readers.—Margaret Boden, Times Higher Education Supplement—

From the Publisher

To read this book with attention is not just to find out about philosophy, but to do it. Churchland has written the best introduction available, for students and for general readers.

Times Higher Education Supplement - Margaret Boden

To read this book with attention is not just to find out about philosophy, but to do it. Churchland has written the best introduction available, for students and for general readers.

—Margaret Boden, Times Higher Education Supplement

Reviews