The Theory of Mind as Pure Act (Classic Reprint) [Paperback]

Giovanni Gentile (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 3, 2009

Berkeley in the beginning of the eighteenth century expressed very clearly the following concept. Reality is § i. Berkeley's conceivable only in so far as the reality con-idealism, ceived is in relation to the activity which conceives it, and in that relation it is not only a possible object of knowledge, it is a present, and actuai one. To conceive a reality is to conceive, at the same time and as one with it, the mind in which that reality is represented ; and therefore the concept of a material reality is absurd. To Berkeley it was evident that the concept of a corporeal, external, material substance, that is, the concept of bodies existing generally outside the mind, is a self-contradictory concept, since we can only speak of things which are perceived, and in being perceived things are objects of consciousness, ideas.
Berkeley with his clear insight remarked that "there is surely nothing easier than to imagine trees in a park, or books existing in a closet, and nobody being by

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, History, Folklore and Mythology.

Forgotten Books' Classic Reprint Series utilizes the latest technology to regenerate facsimiles of historically important writings. Careful attention has been made to accurately preserve the original format of each page whilst digitally enhancing the difficult to read text. Read books online for free at www.forgottenbooks.org

Product Details

• Paperback: 282 pages
• Publisher: Forgotten Books (November 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1440070903
• ISBN-13: 978-1440070907
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,210,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A theory of the world as structured through consciousness., December 15, 2005

By 

Vinay Varma "VinVar" (India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Theory of Mind As Pure Act (Living Time Thought) (Paperback)

I read a 1920s translation of this brilliant philosophical work by Gentile (more remembered for his wrong political leanings - fascism - than his contributions to philosophy).

The book is believed to be solipsist (the position that nothing exists except thought/self), but is not so.

Gentile does not deny the existency of world, history, etc. But he states that everything is ultimately a structure of consciousness and exists only through consciousness rather than independent of it. The question of existence of past, future, space, world, history etc., is ultimately a question of their existence as objects apprehended by consciousness which is in a continuous flux ('here' and 'now' keep changing by the moment they are uttered - a Hegelian position). If objects exist but consciousness does not exist (there is no apprehending subject mind), there existence is immaterial and cannot be ascertained or affirmed.

His philsophy stresses how past and future dissolve into the active moment of the mind in the present. He distinguishes 'thought thought' and 'thought thinking' and asserts that thought is not a closed fact as in 'thought thought' but an active process as in 'thought thinking'.

In this sense Gentile's position is Heraclitean in its focus on continuous flux of mind, Cartesian in its focus on cogito, and closer to phenomenology than solipsism. Gentile was inspired by Hegel's philosophy like his contemporary Croce but took it in a mentalistic direction. It also comes close to phenomenology in its denial of the noumenal.

1.0 out of 5 stars Book cannot be read, May 10, 2011

By 

Mario Petrilli (Sewickley, PA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Theory of Mind as Pure Act (Paperback)

This book cannot be read because the text is totally garbled. Text is totally mixed up; sentences are chopped up and incomplete. The publisher has a note in the inside cover declaring that this is just an OCRed copy. As such it should not be sold.