The Philosophy of Mind: A Short Introduction [Paperback]

Edward Feser (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 25, 2005 | ISBN-10: 1851683763 | ISBN-13: 978-1851683765 | Edition: First Edition

In this accessible introduciton to one of the fastest growing areas in contemporary philosophy, Edward Feser outlines all the main areas of debate and assesses the most important theories and thinkers, from Descartes and dualism to Searle and the Chinese Room experiment.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Oneworld; First Edition edition (July 25, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1851683763
• ISBN-13: 978-1851683765
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #224,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended, April 29, 2006

By 

Steve Jackson "stevejackson100atyahoocom" (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Philosophy of Mind: A Short Introduction (Paperback)

In THE PHILOSOPHY OF MIND: A SHORT INTRODUCTION, Prof. Edward Feser provides an excellent introduction to this branch of philosophy. Not surprisingly, Prof. Feser starts with the contemporary genesis of the issue in the writings of Descartes and proceeds to the various attempts by materialists to reduce or explain mental events by purely physical processes.

This book is introductory in nature and doesn't presuppose any knowledge of philosophy. Given its broad scope, it could even be used as an introductory work in philosophy. Prof. Feser hits some of the basics of epistemology such as realism and idealism. He also incorporates a fair amount of metaphysics as well, discussing personal identity and the question of universals. However, it can be a bit hard going at times, if for no other reason than many of the theories used to defend materialism are difficult to understand and even a bit strange. I found that skipping over the difficult parts and going back to them later to be helpful

Unlike other introductions I've read, Prof. Feser interacts with Thomas Aquinas and the contemporary school of analytical Thomism. The glossary was quite helpful. (For some reason, my copy of the book is entitled "PHILOSOPHY OF MIND", leaving out "THE".)

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars superb overview, May 3, 2006

By 

John Farrell (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Philosophy of Mind: A Short Introduction (Paperback)

If you want a brief but comprehensive overview of the philosophy of mind, I can't think of a better book. Prof. Feser is quite good at describing the opposing views of what the human mind is, meaning: the materialist approach which views the mind as the product of purely physical states and interactions, and the dualist approach which views the mind as fundamentally unphysical--and he is fair to both sides. Indeed, as his closing chapter on the virtues of the classical approach to the mind makes clear, he finds the modern dualist and materialist views both...unsatisfying. Well written with excellent examples.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably the introduction to the philosophy of mind, September 16, 2006

By 

Khalid S. Al Khater "'A lover of Books'" (Doha, Qatar) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Philosophy of Mind: A Short Introduction (Paperback)

The book aims are to provide a solid introduction both to the traditional arguments against materialism and to the contemporary arguments in favor of it. The author does an excellent job of achieving that. His use of clear and simple language in explaining complex arguments provide the mind with enough light to shine the path to understand the twist and turn of the philosophy of mind. By including a further reading material (not just a list) at the end of each chapter makes it very easy to widen one's scope to understand each and every idea one is interested in.