The Concept of Mind (Paperback)

~ (Author), Daniel C. Dennett (Introduction) "THERE is a doctrine about the nature and place of minds which is so prevalent among theorists and even among laymen that it deserves to..." (more)
Key Phrases: singed hoof, episodic words, unstudied talk, John Doe, Richard Roe, Sense Datum Theory (more...)

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This now-classic work challenges what Ryle calls philosophy's "official theory," the Cartesians "myth" of the separation of mind and matter. Ryle's linguistic analysis remaps the conceptual geography of mind, not so much solving traditional philosophical problems as dissolving them into the mere consequences of misguided language. His plain language and esstentially simple purpose place him in the traditioin of Locke, Berkeley, Mill, and Russell.

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This now-classic work challenges what Ryle calls philosophy's "official theory," the Cartesians "myth" of the separation of mind and matter. Ryle's linguistic analysis remaps the conceptual geography of mind, not so much solving traditional philosophical problems as dissolving them into the mere consequences of misguided language. His plain language and esstentially simple purpose place him in the traditioin of Locke, Berkeley, Mill, and Russell.

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Product Details Paperback: 348 pages Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (December 15, 2000) Language: English ISBN-10: 0226732967 ISBN-13: 978-0226732961 Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #207,273 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

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First Sentence:
THERE is a doctrine about the nature and place of minds which is so prevalent among theorists and even among laymen that it deserves to be described as the official theory. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
singed hoof, episodic words, unstudied talk, dispositional words, unstudied utterances, intellectualist legend, higher order acts, dispositional statements, systematic elusiveness, silent soliloquy, hypothetical manner, achievement verbs, introspection cannot, didactic discourse, logical geography, dispositional terms, colour patches, logical behaviour, first personal pronoun

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
John Doe, Richard Roe, Sense Datum Theory, Symbolic Logic, British Constitution, Freedom of the Will, Great Britain, Scotland Yard, Secondary Qualities

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 9 books:

• On Thinking by Gilbert Ryle in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
• Collected Papers: Critical Essays and Collected Essays 1929-68 (v. 1 & 2) by Gilbert Ryle in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
• Content and Consciousness (International Library of Philosophy and Scientific Method) by Daniel Dennett in Front Matter
• The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire: Volumes 1-3 (Everyman's Library) by Edward Gibbon on page 79
• The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 3 by Edward Gibbon on page 79

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100 books cite this book:

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• The Moral Development of Health Professionals: Rational Decisionmaking in Health Care Ethics by Bertram Bandman on 5 pages
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	92% buy the item featured on this page: The Concept of Mind 4.7 out of 5 stars (9) $17.15
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9 Reviews 5 star:  (7) 4 star:  (1) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 4.7 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 29 of 30 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A Matter of Mind, January 26, 2004 By  Peter Reeve (Thousand Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)       "The Concept of Mind" is one of the essential works of philosophy and one of the great books of the twentieth century. Western thought took a horrendous wrong turn with Cartesian dualism and it was not until Ryle's book in 1949 that we got back on track. Or at least should have done, for the idea that we are two separate entities - mind and body - still pervades, and muddies, our thinking, whether philosophical, theological or everyday. Some of Ryle's followers have extended his ideas to the point of distortion, and would have us believe that mind and consciousness actually do not exist. Don't let such behaviorist extremism put you off. Ryle's feet were always more firmly on the ground. He defines the concept of mind, not invalidates it. He has a lively, readable style (of how many philosophers can you say that?) and although a lot of his ideas do not have the novelty that they would have had half a century ago, this is still the best book with which to begin an investigation of the nature of mind and consciousness. 20 of 22 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars The great Classic of Oxford Ordinary Language Philosophy, June 22, 2001 By  C. Gardner (Washington D.C., D.C. United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    This review is from: The Concept of Mind (Paperback) In a sense, this book is a mirror to the problems covered in Wittgenstein's "Philosophical Investigations"--albeit with tighter arguments and far less meandering than Wittgenstein's groundbreaking work (this was published three years before Wittgenstein's posthumous PI). Both men were dedicated to freeing philosophy from what Ryle terms "category errors"--misapplications of the ordinary referential scope of a given term ("mind" as a concept which must necessarily oppose "substance" for instance--this duality forces us to ascribe and essentialize qualities to the incorporeal along the same lines as that of substance, by giving it attributes on the linguistic model of physical objects) These misapplications have led philosophers into vast problems which, by their very nature as linguistic misuses, are unsolvable (but not dis-solvable). Parts of it will provoke cries of "behaviorism!", but Ryle included a chapter near the end distancing his stance from Skinner et al. (how well he manages in this is debatable!) Brilliant, straightforward, and elegant, this is one the best works of 20th-century philosophy. 17 of 22 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic of Philosophy of Mind, July 12, 2001 By  [e-mail] (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews This review is from: The Concept of Mind (Paperback) Gilbert Ryle's classic philosophical work, The Concept of Mind, is now best remembered for the least philosophical part of it, the rhetorical dubbing of Descartes mind/body dualism as the "dogma of the ghost in the machine." Ryle's own particular brand of philosophical behaviorism hasn't weathered all that well, and so this book's surviving interest is primarily as a negative work. Nevertheless, the book is interesting as a crucible for Cartesians and those interested in the philosophical merits of the Cartesain theory of mind. Ryle's book is chauk full of arguments, long ones, short ones, simple ones, subtle ones, with a particular predominance of infinite regresses. Even if you think, as I do, that many of these arguments are misguided, you will still be put through a variety of mental gymnastics as you try to diagnose the various faults they hide. One note of caution, because many of Ryle's arguments are of the ordinary language variety, his linguistic distance from us (the book is over 50 years old, and British to boot) does hinder understanding. It was not always clear to me whether Ryle was misusing a word, or whether its use is different for us than it was for him.		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 3.0 out of 5 stars An Historical Curiosity The problem with this book is also the problem of philosophy in general: it lacks foundation in the material world. Read more Published 8 months ago by Allan M. Lees 5.0 out of 5 stars MENS SANA There is no getting away from the noun 'mind'. It is perfectly intelligible and sensible to say that Newton, Hume and Richard Bentley had fine minds. Read more Published on March 7, 2006 by DAVID BRYSON 4.0 out of 5 stars One of the best book of the ordinary language philosophy Gilbert Ryle shows a great skill in condensing his whole argument in a succinct metaphor. On page 16, he writes: "A foreign stranger visiting the Oxford campus is shown libraries,... Read more Published on January 2, 2005 by Sei Kameoka 5.0 out of 5 stars Ghosts Gilbert Ryle wrote this classic exposition on the mind-body problem in philosophy with a view to dissipate a myth fundamental to religion and philosophy. Read more Published on April 22, 2003 by Claude Prevots 5.0 out of 5 stars Common sense and dignity The Concept of Mind is a great book for several reasons. The main reason to me is that Ryle clarifies the concept of being human, while he uses language in a natural way. Read more Published on July 26, 2000 by Rene van Delft 5.0 out of 5 stars Should have lots more reviews This is really a seminal work of philosophy, undermining reliance on the mind/body dualism so prevalent in academia for centuries. Read more Published on May 18, 1999 Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 348 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press (December 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226732967
• ISBN-13: 978-0226732961
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #207,273 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Matter of Mind, January 26, 2004

By	Peter Reeve (Thousand Oaks, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"The Concept of Mind" is one of the essential works of philosophy and one of the great books of the twentieth century. Western thought took a horrendous wrong turn with Cartesian dualism and it was not until Ryle's book in 1949 that we got back on track. Or at least should have done, for the idea that we are two separate entities - mind and body - still pervades, and muddies, our thinking, whether philosophical, theological or everyday.

Some of Ryle's followers have extended his ideas to the point of distortion, and would have us believe that mind and consciousness actually do not exist. Don't let such behaviorist extremism put you off. Ryle's feet were always more firmly on the ground. He defines the concept of mind, not invalidates it.

He has a lively, readable style (of how many philosophers can you say that?) and although a lot of his ideas do not have the novelty that they would have had half a century ago, this is still the best book with which to begin an investigation of the nature of mind and consciousness.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The great Classic of Oxford Ordinary Language Philosophy, June 22, 2001

By	C. Gardner (Washington D.C., D.C. United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Concept of Mind (Paperback)

In a sense, this book is a mirror to the problems covered in Wittgenstein's "Philosophical Investigations"--albeit with tighter arguments and far less meandering than Wittgenstein's groundbreaking work (this was published three years before Wittgenstein's posthumous PI). Both men were dedicated to freeing philosophy from what Ryle terms "category errors"--misapplications of the ordinary referential scope of a given term ("mind" as a concept which must necessarily oppose "substance" for instance--this duality forces us to ascribe and essentialize qualities to the incorporeal along the same lines as that of substance, by giving it attributes on the linguistic model of physical objects) These misapplications have led philosophers into vast problems which, by their very nature as linguistic misuses, are unsolvable (but not dis-solvable). Parts of it will provoke cries of "behaviorism!", but Ryle included a chapter near the end distancing his stance from Skinner et al. (how well he manages in this is debatable!) Brilliant, straightforward, and elegant, this is one the best works of 20th-century philosophy.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic of Philosophy of Mind, July 12, 2001

By	[e-mail] (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Concept of Mind (Paperback)

Gilbert Ryle's classic philosophical work, The Concept of Mind, is now best remembered for the least philosophical part of it, the rhetorical dubbing of Descartes mind/body dualism as the "dogma of the ghost in the machine." Ryle's own particular brand of philosophical behaviorism hasn't weathered all that well, and so this book's surviving interest is primarily as a negative work. Nevertheless, the book is interesting as a crucible for Cartesians and those interested in the philosophical merits of the Cartesain theory of mind.

Ryle's book is chauk full of arguments, long ones, short ones, simple ones, subtle ones, with a particular predominance of infinite regresses. Even if you think, as I do, that many of these arguments are misguided, you will still be put through a variety of mental gymnastics as you try to diagnose the various faults they hide.

One note of caution, because many of Ryle's arguments are of the ordinary language variety, his linguistic distance from us (the book is over 50 years old, and British to boot) does hinder understanding. It was not always clear to me whether Ryle was misusing a word, or whether its use is different for us than it was for him.