| Dispositional Properties Contributor(s): Weissman, David (Author) |
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ISBN: 0809328712 ISBN-13: 9780809328710 Publisher: Southern Illinois University Press OUR PRICE: $38.61 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: August 2008 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Philosophy | Criticism |
| Physical Information: 0.51" H x 5.94" W x 8.46" (0.61 lbs) 226 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: In Dispositional Properties, David Weissman attacks a problem central to the philosophy of mind and, by implication, to the theory of being: Are there potentialities, capabilities, which dispose the mind to think in one way rather than another? The volume is arranged in the form of four arguments that converge upon a single point. First, there is an intricate discussion of the shortcomings of Hume's account of mind as ideas and impressions. Next comes a brief treatment of the arguments of some of Weissman's contemporaries, including Carnap and Braithwaite. Third, Weissman discusses Wittgenstein's theories of learning and knowledge. Finally, there is a full discussion of Aristotle and his doctrine of potentialities. The question this book ultimately raises is how to steer between a doctrine of mind as no more than a series of acts, on the one hand, and a doctrine of mind as a kind of unitary object, on the other. The solution is to show first of all that there must be a potentiality in the universe, and then to show clearly and in detail that the mind is shot through with that potentiality.
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