Theories of the Mind

by Stephen Priest

Examines the views of philosophers on the philosophy of mind. The book begins with dualism, the traditional view that mind and body are wholly distinct, and covers behaviourism, materialism or identity theory, functionalism, double-aspect theories and phenomenology.

Genres: Philosophy, Psychology, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't have done better myself.

[Liedzeit Liedzeit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good as long as he describes theories. His own thoughts are less interesting.

[Derek Bridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mind is what brains do. So sayeth AI researcher Marvin Minsky. And, I think, this is obvious to all AI researchers, psychologists, neurologists and right-thinking people. But you wouldn't believe it from 2000+ years of philosophers' word-games, reviewed here. At least, Priest, in his final chapter, reaches the right conclusion: mind is the activity of the brain. There is no mind-brain problem. He also, sensibly, goes further. "[C]onsciousness does not exist...experiences exist, but, once we have itemized all the experiences a person is having, there is absolutely nothing at all to be captured by 'consciousness'." Hurrah. Imagining that there is something beyond experiences is, in my view, just another form of dualism. Unfortunately, Priest too, then seems to add his own linguistic obscurantism in his concluding pages. Such is philosophy.

[Roman · Rating 5 out of 5]

10

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

A challenging read, as any serious book on consciousness must be. More philosophy than science but still stands up I think 20 years after publication.