Preface
There is assuredly no more effectual method of clearing up one's own mind on any subject than by talking it over, so to speak, with [persons] of real power and grasp who have considered it from a totally different point of view.
The parallax of time helps us to the true position of a conception, as the parallax of space helps us to that of a star.T. H. Huxley
We assembled this volume with several goals in mind. First, we wanted to provide a pedagogical tool for those teaching the philosophy of mind to upper level undergraduates. We have each taught courses in the philosophy of mind, and we have each been frustrated by the lack of an introductory reader that contains historically relevant material. There are several excellent collections of recent writings in the philosophy of mind, but we thought it was important for students to see how certain problems have survived through the centuries. Our solution was to pull together the historical and contemporary work and organize the material by topics. Each section of the volume is dedicated to a single area and progresses from the relevant historical work (by, for example, Descartes) to more contemporary writings (by, for example, Fodor).
Our second goal was not pedagogical so much as ideological. Some philosophers have contended privately that the philosophy of mind is an irredudbly trendy branch of philosophy. We disagreed with this assessment and wanted this collection to show how many of the current concerns in the philosophy of mind have their roots in intellectual history.
Finally, we wanted to provide a helpful resource manual for those working in the philosophy of mind and the cognitive sciences. Few people will have all of these readings, and those who do will not have all of them at their fingertips. Of course we also hoped that by making some of the historical selections more accessible, they would become more widely read and appreciated.
As the quote from Huxley suggests, there is much to be learned from dialogue with these thinkers.It is customary to note that many excellent essays had to be left out due to space limitations. Sometimes this disclaimer is made merely to be polite, but not in this case. The writings in philosophy and psychology over the last 2500 years have been vast, and there is simply no way to include all of the worthy material. One can also envision additional sections that might be added to a collection of this nature. Gmdidate topics (which we have considered) include qualia, psychological content, and so forth. To some extent, all these topics are treated along the way, but we will be the first to admit that more extensive discussion of these topics is possible.
We have provided a brief introduction to each section. We prefer that the introductory material be viewed as articulating one interpretation of these works and their interrelationship, not as articulating some canonical view. The introductions should be read critically, as should all texts.
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This collection was compiled with the help of a number of individuals. Ned Block, Stephen Neale, and Robert van Gulick read our initial proposal and made a number ol very helpful suggestions for improvements. (Ned and Stephen also provided invaluable assistance with various aspects of preparation, ranging from help in securing permissions to advice on section introductions). We have also benefited from discussion with and suggestions from Marcos Bisticas-Cocoves, Nancy Franklin, Steve Fuller, Kathy Kemp, Peter Nagy, and Anderson Weekes. We also wish to thank Betty Stanton of Bradford Books for shepherding us through this process.
Finally, we wel∞me comments and criticisms from readers, especially students. Please write!
Brian Beakley Dept of Philosophy Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL 61920 email: cfbxb@uxl.eiu.edu
Peter Ludlow
Dept, of Philosophy
SUNY Stony Brook
Stony Brook, NY11794
email: PLUDLOW@ccvm.sunysb.edu