Philosophy of mind : a comprehensive introduction / William Jaworski.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

PHILOSOPHY of MIND

"Philosophy of mind is an incredibly active field thanks in part to the recent explosion of work in the sciences of the mind. Jaworski's book is a well-written, comprehensive, and sophisticated primer on all the live positions on the mind-body problem, including various kinds of physicalism, emergentism, and his own favorite, hylomorphism. This is a serious and responsible book for philosophy students, philosophers, and mind scientists who want to understand where they stand philosophically."
Owen Flanagan, Duke University

Philosophy of Mind introduces readers to one of the liveliest fields in contemporary philosophy by discussing mind-body problems and the range of solutions to them: varieties of substance dualism, physicalism, dual-attribute theory, neutral monism, idealism, and hylomorphism. It treats each position fairly, in greater depth and detail than competing texts, and is written throughout in a clear, accessible style that is easy to read, free of technical jargon, and presupposes no prior knowledge of philosophy of mind. The result is a balanced overview of the entire field that enables students and instructors to grasp the essential arguments and jump immediately into current debates.

William Jaworski discusses the impact of neuroscience, biology, psychology, and cognitive science on mind-body debates. Bibliographic essays at the end of each chapter bring readers up to speed on the latest literature and allow the text to be used in conjunction with primary sources. Numerous diagrams and illustrations help newcomers grasp the more complex ideas, and chapters on free will and the philosophy of persons make the book a flexible teaching tool for general philosophy courses in addition to courses in philosophy of mind.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

As indicated by its title, this book is indeed a comprehensive overview of the contemporary debate about the mind-body problem. After some introductory background material, Jaworski (Fordham Univ.) surveys an exhaustive list of contending theories of mind, with particular emphasis to substance dualism, reductive physicalism, nonreductive physicalism, property dualism (which Jaworski calls dual attribute theory), and hylomorphism. The book's general orientation toward this last theory, discussion of which occupies roughly one-quarter of the text, is idiosyncratic for this kind of textbook. Hylomorphism has had nowhere near the influence in contemporary discussion as the other theories discussed, a fact Jaworski admits when he notes that "only time will tell if some version of hylomorphism deserves a lasting place among the other theories we have considered." But despite its idiosyncratic focus, this book offers a careful and clear treatment of its subject matter. Included are a comprehensive glossary and explanatory diagrams that likely will be helpful for readers new to the debate. Moreover, two chapters not included in the print edition of the book (on persons and free will) are available as downloads from the publisher's website. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates through graduate students. A. Kind Claremont McKenna College