José Luis Bermúdez introduces the philosophy of psychology as an interdisciplinary exploration of the nature and mechanisms of cognition. Philosophy of Psychology charts out four influential 'pictures of the mind' and uses them to explore central topics in the philosophical foundations of psychology, including the relation between different levels of studying the mind/brain; the nature and scope of psychological explanation; the architecture of cognition; and the relation between thought and language. Chapters cover all the core concepts, including: models of psychological explanation
the nature of commonsense psychology
arguments for the autonomy of psychology
functionalist approaches to cognition
computational models of the mind
neural network modeling
rationality and mental causation
perception, action and cognition
the language of thought and the architecture of cognition. Philosophy of Psychology: A Contemporary Introduction is a very clear and well-structured textbook from one of the leaders in the field.
Reviews: 'As an advanced introductory text, this book has much to recommend it to undergraduate and graduate philosophy students: as being clearly and engagingly written and...strking an excellent balance between exegesis and criticism...Essential reading for anyone with at least a little background in philosophy of psychology and wishes to learn more.' - Richard de Blacquiere-Clarkson, Metapsychology On Line 'a great feat...chock full of examples from contemporary research, and beginners are brought to advanced discussion of contemporary thinking about cognition. Beginning philosophers, and serious researchers in philosophy and allied fields will profit from it." Krista Lawlor, Philosophical Books 'An outstanding introductory text in philosophy of psychology that lends itself readily to use in a variety of courses. It will, in addition, constitute an independent, substantive contribution to philosophy of psychology and philosophy of mind.' - David Rosenthal, City University of New York, USA 'Philosophers of psychology and philosophically minded psychologists are in need of just this kind of introductory book. I would recommend this material both for pedagogy and as a place for scholars to turn to for a refresher.' - Joe Cruz, Williams College, USA
Table of Contents Introduction: What is the Philosophy of Psychology? 1. Levels of Psychological Explanation and the Interface Problem 2. The Nature of Commonsense Psychology: The Autonomous Mind and the Functional Mind 3. Causes in the Mind: From the Functional Mind to the Computational Mind 4. Neural Networks and the Neurobiological Mind 5. Rationality, Mental Causation and Commonsense Psychology 6. The Scope of Commonsense Psychology 7. From Perception to Action 8. Propositional Attitudes: Contents and Vehicle 9. Words and Thoughts About the Author José Luis Bermúdez is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology Program at Washington University in St Louis, USA. He is series editor of the International Library of Philosophy (Routledge).
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