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The Concept of Mind 1st Edition

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Gilbert Ryle (Author)
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Gilbert Ryle (Author), Daniel C. Dennett (Introduction)
4.4 out of 5 stars 20 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0226732961
ISBN-10: 0226732967
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 348 pages
  • Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (December 15, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0226732967
  • ISBN-13: 978-0226732961
  • Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #632,255 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsA Matter of Mind
By Peter Reeve on January 26, 2004
Format: Paperback
"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.
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe great Classic of Oxford Ordinary Language Philosophy
By C. Gardner on June 22, 2001
Format: 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.
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5.0 out of 5 starsA Classic of Philosophy of Mind
By JNeeley@mail.utexas.edu on July 12, 2001
Format: 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.
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5.0 out of 5 starsONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS "PHILOSOPHY OF MIND" BOOKS OF THE 20TH CENTURY
By Steven H Propp TOP 100 REVIEWER on May 21, 2013
Format: Paperback
Gilbert Ryle (1900-1976) was a British "ordinary language" philosopher. He wrote in the Introduction to this 1949 book, "This book offers what may ... be described as a theory of the mind. But it does not give new information about minds... The philosophical arguments which constitute this book are intended... to rectify the logical geography of the knowledge we already possess." (Pg. 7)

He describes the traditional Mind/Matter picture as "'the dogma of the Ghost in the Machine'... It is one big mistake and a mistake of a special kind. It is, namely, a category-mistake. It represents the facts of mental life as if they belonged to one logical type or category... when they actually belong to another." (Pg. 15-16) He adds, "If my argument is successful... the hallowed contrast between Mind and Matter will be dissipated... The belief that there is a polar opposition between Mind and Matter is the belief that they are terms of the same logical type. It will follow that both Idealism and Materialism are answers to an improper question." (Pg. 22)

He says, "The crucial objection to the intellectualist legend is this:... if, for any operation to be intelligently executed, a prior theoretical operation had first to be performed and performed intelligently, it would be a logical impossibility for anyone ever to break into the circle... The regress is infinite." (Pg. 30-31) He contends, "In judging that someone's performance is or is not intelligent, we have... to look beyond the performance itself. For there is no particular overt or inner performance which could not have been accidentally or 'mechanically' executed by an idiot... or even, sometimes, by a parrot." (Pg. 41) "'Mind' is not the name of another person, working or frolocking behind an impenetrable screen...Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsI became a college professor myself and was pleased to revisit some of...

Years ago (1968) Gilbert Ryle was a lecturer in a course I was following at the University of Edinburg. Read more

Published 2 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsWe are adrift in metaphorical chaos, with no mind in sight.

Philosophers have a problem with agreement. With agreeing. With each other. But still, given that a primary aim of philosophy is to make our ideas and concepts clear, 2000 years... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Dan Downs
3.0 out of 5 starsOversold -- examine his critiques not his slogans and there is nothing...

I have read several contemporary materialist philosophers assert there is no need to even bother discussing dualism, as Ryle so effectively refuted it in this work. Read more

Published 14 months ago by dcleve
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great

Published 21 months ago by Garrett
4.0 out of 5 starsGreat book, and I like it.

This is a great book, I really understood it well, I'm actually not even done with it but I like it quite a bit.

Published on December 18, 2013 by Nathan S K
4.0 out of 5 starsAn overlooked philosopher--with a sense of humor too!

Revive Interest in Ryle
The Concept of Mind
The Gilbert Ryle book was as wished for.
I heard and talked with Gilbert Ryle years ago (1968) in Edinburgh and always... Read more

Published on July 16, 2013 by Dr. Anne Mills King
5.0 out of 5 starsONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS "PHILOSOPHY OF MIND" BOOKS OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Gilbert Ryle (1900-1976) was a British "ordinary language" philosopher. He wrote in the Introduction to this 1949 book, "This book offers what may ... Read more

Published on May 21, 2013 by Steven H Propp
4.0 out of 5 starsNice Descartes counter arguments

For anyone who felt even slightly uncomfortable while reading Descartes' meditations, but didn't quite know why, this is a great book. Read more

Published on March 24, 2013 by Rutwik
5.0 out of 5 starsSignificance of gilbert ryle

I had long wanted to read this title.It is of great hitorical significance.It teaches one humility.

Published on April 10, 2010 by misterbargain
1.0 out of 5 starsThis KINDLE EDITION is typos. Unreadable.

I will make this review short and sweet. I was hoping to avoid paying an outragous price for the kindle edition of the 2000 re-release of Concept of Mind (with forward by Daniel... Read more

Published on July 10, 2009 by Kevin Currie-Knight

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