Mental causation : investigating the mind's powers in a natural world / Jens Harbecke.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Harbecke, Jens.

Series:

Metaphysical research ; Bd. 8

Metaphysical Research ; 8

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Philosophy of mind.

Causation.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (434 p.)

Place of Publication:

Frankfurt ; New Brunswick : Ontos Verlag, 2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This work is a systematic investigation of a range of solutions offered today for the philosophical problem of mental causation. The premises constituting the problem are analyzed before a survey is developed of the most popular theories on mental causation. It is demonstrated in detail why most of these canonical solutions must be considered deficient. In a third part, the 'new compatibilist’s' approach to mental causation is explored, which is characterized by assertion of a non-identity-but-non-distinctness principle. The last part aims to offer an alternative solution to the problem. On the basis of a certain set of counterfactual conditionals, which are jointly taken to provide a definition of 'causal proportionality' that improves the existing definitions, it is shown that a specific, and hitherto widely neglected, version of causal overdeterminationism must be considered the most successful solution to the problem of mental causation.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Table of contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1. The Problem of Mental Causation: premises and central principles

Chapter 2. Canonical solutions to the Problem

Chapter 3. New compatibilism and mental causation

Chapter 4. Open solutions

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

3-938793-94-5

3-11-032484-9

OCLC:

854568756