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This book differs from others by rejecting the dualist approach associated in particular with Descartes. It also casts serious doubt on the forms of materialism that now dominate English language philosophy. Drawing in particular on the work of Wittgenstein, a central place is given to the importance of the notion of a human being in our thought about ourselves and others.
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An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind David Cockburn An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind Also by David Cockburn HUMAN BEINGS (editor) OTHER HUMAN BEINGS OTHER TIMES An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind David Cockburn Professor of Philosophy University of Wales, Lampeter For Sean and Patrick © David Cockburn 2001 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2001 by PALGRAVE Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N. Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE is the new global academic imprint of St. Martin’s Press LLC Scholarly and Reference Division and Palgrave Publishers Ltd (formerly Macmillan Press Ltd). ISBN 0–333–78637–8 hardback ISBN 0–333–96122–6 paperback This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Cockburn, David, 1949– An introduction to the philosophy of mind / David Cockburn. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0–333–78637–8 (cloth) — ISBN 0–333–96122–6 (pbk.) 1. Philosophy of mind. I. Title. BD418.3 .C59 2001 128’.2—dc21 00–054531 10 10 9 09 8 08 7 07 6 06 5 05 4 04 3 03 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire 2 02 1 01 Contents Acknowledgements vi Preface vii Analytical Table of Contents xi 1 Descartes: The Self and the World 2 The Cartesian Soul and the Paranormal 13 3 Other Minds 27 4 Mind and Behaviour 37 5 The Material Mind 57 6 Mental Causation, Supervenience and Physicalism 76 7 Human Beings 94 8 The Identity of the Self 112 9 Freedom and Science 129 Postscript: The Self and the World 142 10 1 Bibliography 152 Index 156 v Acknowledgements Some of the material in Chapter 3 originally appeared in Philosophy. Chapter 9 is a revised and expanded version of an article that was published in Cogito. I am grateful to the editors of these journals for permission to use this material here. vi Preface The aims of a book title are, I guess, to catch the potential reader’s attention and to give him or her some idea of what the book is about. I will use this Preface to provide a long footnote (the only footnote