E-Book Overview
According to epiphenomenalism, our behavior is caused by events in our brains that also cause our mentality. This resulting mentality reflects our brains' organization, but does not in turn cause anything. This book defends an epiphenomenalist account of philosophy of mind. It builds on the author's previous work by moving beyond a discussion of sensations to apply an epiphenomenalist outlook to other aspects of mental causation such as beliefs, desires, pleasure, and displeasure. The first four chapters of the book argue for a dualistic theory of sensations and develop an epiphenomenalist version of dualism. The remaining chapters discuss propositional attitudes and valence. The author also responds to potential objections to epiphenomenalism by considering how sensations, intelligence, or understanding might be built into a robot. This book will be of interest to scholars and students in philosophy of mind who are interested in consciousness, mental causation, and how our mentality is situated in the world.
E-Book Content
Epiphenomenal Mind According to epiphenomenalism, our behavior is caused by events in our brains that also cause our mentality. This resulting mentality reflects our brains’ organization, but does not in turn cause anything. This book defends an epiphenomenalist account of philosophy of mind. It builds on the author’s previous work by moving beyond a discussion of sensations to apply an epiphenomenalist outlook to other aspects of mental causation such as beliefs, desires, pleasure, and displeasure. The first four chapters of the book argue for a dualistic theory of sensations and develop an epiphenomenalist version of dualism. The remaining chapters discuss propositional attitudes and valence. The author also responds to potential objections to epiphenomenalism by considering how sensations, intelligence, or understanding might be built into a robot. This book will be of interest to scholars and students in philosophy of mind who are interested in consciousness, mental causation, and how our mentality is situated in the world. William S. Robinson is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Iowa State University. He writes on a variety of topics in philosophy of mind. Previous books include Understanding Phenomenal Consciousness (2004) and, for a more general audience, Your Brain and You (2010). Routledge Studies in Contemporary Philosophy 108 Consciousness and Physicalism A Defense of a Research Program Andreas Elpidorou and Guy Dove 109 The Value and Limits of Academic Speech Philosophical, Political, and Legal Perspectives Edited by Donald Alexander Downs and Chris W. Surprenant 110 The Significance of Interdeterminacy Perspectives from Asian and Continental Philosophy Edited by Robert H. Scott and Gregory S. Moss 111 Questions of Practice in Philosophy and Social Theory Edited by Anders Buch and Theodore R. Schatzki 112 The Phenomenology of Real and Virtual Places Edited by Erik Malcolm Champion 113 Context, Truth, and Objectivity Essays on Radical Contextualism Edited by Eduardo Marchesan and David Zapero 114 Good Thinking A Knowledge First Virtue Epistemology Christoph Kelp 115 Epiphenomenal Mind An Integrated Outlook on Sensations, Beliefs, and Pleasure William S. Robinson For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge .com Epiphenomenal Mind An Integrated Outlook on Sensations, Beliefs, and Pleasure William S. Robinson First published 2019 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2019 Taylor & Francis The right of William S. Robinson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and P