Mental causation : the mind-body problem / Anthony Dardis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dardis, Anthony.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Philosophy of mind.

Mind and body.

Causation.

Physical Description:

xiv, 195 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, [2008]

Summary:

This conceptual knot, the mental causation problem, is the core of the mind-body problem, closely connected to the problems of free will, consciousness, and intentionality. Anthony Dardis shows how to unravel the knot. He traces its early appearance in the history of philosophical inquiry, specifically in the work of Plato, Aristotle, Descartes, and T.H. Huxley. He then develops a metaphysical framework for a theory of causation, laws of nature, and the causal relevance of properties. Using this framework, Dardis explains how macro-, or higher-level, properties can be causally relevant in the same way that microphysical properties are causally relevant: by their relationship with the laws of nature. Smelling an orange, choosing the orange rather than the cheesecake, reaching for the one on the left instead of the one on the right-mental properties such as these take their place alongside the physical "motor of the world" in making things happen.

Contents:

Why mental causation?

Immortality and the body

Dualism and automatism

Ghosts and machines

Properties

Causation and properties

Sunburn and fragile things

Supervenience and levels

The causal relevance of mental properties.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [177]-187) and index.

ISBN:

9780231144162

0231144164

9780231144179

0231144172

9780231513517

0231513518

OCLC:

192109675