Controversies and the Metaphysics of Mind

Author

Yaron M. Senderowicz | Tel Aviv University

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027218889 | EUR 105.00 | USD 158.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027287915 | EUR 105.00 | USD 158.00

Since ancient times, metaphysical theories have been shaped by the dialectical relations between metaphysical positions. The present book offers a new account of the role of controversies in the evolution of ideas in current metaphysics of mind. Part One develops a pragmatic theory of metaphysical controversies that combines Kantian themes and themes from current argumentation theory. The theory developed in this book underscores the role of a unique type of dialectical arguments which establish metaphysical positions as controversial relevant alternatives in the evolution of chains of debates in metaphysics. In Part Two and Part Three, this theory is applied to chains of debates in present day metaphysics of mind which address the problems of consciousness and personal identity. One of the contentions defended in this book is that the intellectual history of metaphysics is not a process in which positions are replaced by opposite positions, but rather, a history of their status as relevant alternatives. The book analyzes in detail and demonstrates how progress in contemporary metaphysics of mind consists in a dialectical process through which challenges to extant positions lead to innovative alternatives that are intrinsically relevant to advancing the understanding of the issues under discussion.

[Controversies, 8] 2010. xi, 235 pp.

Publishing status: Available

https://doi.org/10.1075/cvs.8

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part one. Outline of a theory of metaphysical controversies

Chapter 1. The Kantian framework | pp. 17–34

Chapter 2. The idea of controversy and metaphysics | pp. 35–58

Chapter 3. Intuitions, thought experiments, and controversies | pp. 59–78

Part two. The knowledge argument

Chapter 4. The polemical character of the knowledge arguments | pp. 81–96

Chapter 5. The antinomies of consciousness and their resolutions: Phenomenal concepts, representationalism, and two-dimensional semantics | pp. 97–124

Chapter 6. A priori knowledge and the explanatory gap | pp. 125–158

Part three. Personal identity and revisionary metaphysics

Chapter 7. Personal identity, self-consciousness, and bodily identity | pp. 161–180

Chapter 8. From transcendental arguments to revisionary metaphysics | pp. 181–196

Chapter 9. Neo-Lockeanism, reductionism, and animalism: The emergence of a new debate | pp. 197–220

Conclusion | pp. 221–224

Index | pp. 233–236

“This book [...] is of great interest for people involved in linguistic subfields such as pragmatics and discourse analysis, as it illustrates the vitality of argumentation theory and makes the case for more interdisciplinary work between philosophers, discourse and argumentation analysts and linguists. [...] it is orginal and promising enough to be recommended as a very stimulating lecture and as a valuable attempt to bridge the gaps between several subfields and disciplines concerned with rational discourse.”

Pierre-Yves Modicom, Université Paris IV

“[...] it is nevertheless original and promising enough to be recommended as a very stimulating lecture and as a valuable attempt to bridge the gaps between several subfield and disciplines concerned with rational discourse.”

Pierre-Yves Modicom, on Linguist List 22.500

Cited by

Cited by 3 other publications

Fritz, Gerd

2018. Chapter 1. The pragmatic organization of controversies. In Historical Pragmatics of Controversies [Controversies, 14], ► pp. 1 ff.

Senderowicz, Yaron

2014. The Exclusion Argument. In Perspectives on Theory of Controversies and the Ethics of Communication [Logic, Argumentation & Reasoning, 2], ► pp. 19 ff.

Senderowicz, Yaron M.

2020. Chapter 9. Husserl’s phenomenology of inner time-consciousness and enactivism. In Controversies and Interdisciplinarity [Controversies, 16], ► pp. 177 ff.

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