Lost souls : the philosophic origins of a cultural dilemma / David Weissman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Weissman, David, 1936-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Mind and body.

Philosophy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (225 p.)

Place of Publication:

Albany : State University of New York Press, c2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Lost Souls examines the origins and consequences of the philosophic idea that mind and body are distinct. The author traces mind-body dualism from Plato, Plotinus, Augustine, and Proclus through Descartes and Kant to Nietzsche, Heidegger, Carnap, and Quine. Mind's separation from body has dominated philosophic thinking for millennia, yet most mental activities are now explained in physical terms. What are the implications if mind is material and mortal? Considering both philosophic and scientific ideas about mind, David Weissman explores our options. Rejecting the claim that the character and existence of other things are an effect of the ways we think about or perceive them, he reexamines such topics as meaning and truth, human significance, self, and society. He argues that philosophers have the rare opportunity to renew inquiry by invoking the questions that once directed them: What are we? What is our place in the world? What concerns are appropriate to being here?

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Illustrations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Plato’s Divided Line

Descartes’ Revisions of the Line

Consequences

Descartes’ Heirs: Ontological Foundationalism and “The End of Western Metaphysics”

The Cogito’s Demise

Churning

Ideas to Reformulate and Save

Afterword

Notes

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-197) and index.

ISBN:

9781417524146

0-7914-8671-0

1-4175-2414-6

OCLC:

61367700