Peter A. Morton

This book could serve as either a textbook for a philosophy of mind class or as a tool with which one can teach oneself these concepts. The basic setup of the book is quite helpful and informative. Morton begins each section with a lengthy commentary on the readings that will follow; these typically involve a discussion of the historical background of a particular philosophy, key terms, and a detailed discussion of the excerpt or essay contained in the section. The book includes a glossary but suffers from a lack of an index; the process of locating a term mentioned in an introduction, for example, tends to be quite complicated. The text "begins at the beginning" with Plato, Aristotle, Galileo, and a great deal of information and readings about and by Descartes. The actual philosophies it covers are: dualism, monism (materialism and idealism), logical behaviorism, linguistic philosophy, mind-brain identity theory, artificial intelligence, functionalism, and eliminative materialism. Each of these typically has 2-3 thinkers represented in terms of essays and excerpts, and the sections vary from about 20 to 40 pages apiece. Morton almost always provides a large and well-excerpted chunk of reading, which, coupled with the detail he provides in his commentary, will help in making a person able to discuss and understand the positions detailed here. The book concludes with a lengthy section on consciousness (featuring Nagel's famous essay "What Is It Like to Be a Bat?" plus three other readings) and a somewhat confusing section on Intentionality (perhaps the most confusing section of the book). Morton's commentary, overall, is clear and helpful; the philosophies covered here are quite complex, but his writing and careful choosing of reading material makes them easier to grasp.… (altro)