Philosophy of Mind

by Mel R. Thompson

From Plato's cave to Dennett's emergent systems, Teach Yourself Philosophy of Mind explores more than two millennia of thought on the knottiest of all philosophical questions. What is the mind? Is it a function of language, a neuropsychological artifact, or a metaphysical essence? Will machines ever be conscious? Is free will just an illusion? Beginning with the pre-Socratics and moving up through the latest in cognitive science, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence, this book explores major thinking on consciousness, memory, creativity, and other major concepts in the philosophy of mind.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 8, 2002

Reviews

[Jonathan Hockey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reasonable introduction, just reading to reintroduce myself to the material, but you are better off reading a book by a particular philosopher from his perspective. As these introductions will happily reel off contradictory philosophical positions from one sentence to the next for the sake of trying to represent the range of perspectives out there

[Michael Prendergast · Rating 4 out of 5]

I understood, around, 30% of this book. As an introduction this was an uphill climb and one I will return to again.

[JazzyBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the layout of this book - It was sometimes a bit confusing but the summaries at the back were really useful for my research.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite being too brief to offer a good understanding of any of the many approaches on offer, it still seems arduously drawn-out and unforthcoming. This has less to do with the elusive and sometimes unsatisfying nature of philosophy, and more to do with Thompson's willful disinclination to take a stand on anything meaningful. Her insistence on misrepresenting even the most basic of scientific principles (especially evolution, which is depicted as a directed process trying to achieve human sentience, a nauseatingly incorrect notion) is frustrating throughout, and scuppers whatever paltry arguments she does try to make. Overall the book is quite evidently commissioned by hacks who seem to have instructed the hapless Thompson to be both comprehensive and brief, such that it was not possible for her to achieve either.

If you want a very boring, classroom overview of philosophy, read this book. If you want to know what people doing philosophy actually think, read anything else.