Philosophy of Psychology

Description

"Philosophy of Psychology" is an introduction to philosophical problems that arise in the scientific study of cognition and behavior. Jose Luis Bermudez 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. An introductory chapter looks at what the philosophy of psychology is, tracing its historical background and exploring its relationship to philosophy of mind and to psychology itself. Further chapters cover all the core concepts and themes found in undergraduate courses in philosophy of psychology, 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. Jose Luis Bermudez 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) and author of "The Paradox of Self-Consciousness" (1998) and "Thinking without Words" (2003).

Jose Luis Bermudez 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).

'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