The Churchlands and their Critics (Philosophers and their Critics) [Paperback]

Robert McCauley (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0631189696 | ISBN-13: 978-0631189695 | Publication Date: June 10, 1996 | Edition: 1

The influence of Patricia and Paul Churchland's work on contemporary philosophy and cognitive science has been profound. The Churchlands have challenged nearly all prevailing doctrines concerning knowledge, mind, science, and language.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

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.

About the Author

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).

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1 edition (June 10, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0631189696
• ISBN-13: 978-0631189695
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,036,766 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another instructive gem in a great series, January 30, 2004

By 

Todd I. Stark "Cellular Wetware plus Books" (Philadelphia, Pa USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Churchlands and their Critics (Philosophers and their Critics) (Paperback)

This book is one of a half dozen or so in a superb series covering different contemporary philosophers and their critics in a single volume. I find this format particularly instructive. A dialog of philosophers and their critics doesn't resolve their differences, but it does go a very long way toward clarifying those differences. The philosophers covered by this series are particularly relevant to our understanding of the mind. The philosophers covered in this series are those who have made very important contributions relevant across different domains of psychology, brain science, and philosophy of mind. Books in the series cover Dennett, Searle, Dretske, Fodor, Quine, and others.

For those like me who are interested in the boundary of brain science and philosophy *and* learn particularly well from dialogs rather than monologs, this back and forth with the Churchlands will be a real treat. The Churchlands raise a number of central and fundamental issues relevant to our understanding of the human mind in their work.

This book contains essays presenting key criticisms of the Churchlands' influential and controversial approach to these issues. The Churchlands respond to these criticisms in a measured way that clarifies the areas of agreement as well as the areas of difference. For me, this book seems to stand by itself as a useful introduction to what is unique about the Churchlands' approach. It is a hard read as a one volume introduction to their approach, but serves the purpose with some effort.

The issues covered explore the way the Churchlands' approach draws from and differs from other approaches in cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and neural network modelling, applied to explanations of moral theory, methodology, semantics, neurocomputation, and folk psychology.

Most of this book is readable by interested non-specialists, although some of the sections are more technical than others, particularly when the specifics of PDP models and the neurocomputational approach are addressed. This difficulty is only found a a couple of the chapters.