Philosophy of Mind in the Early Modern and Modern Ages

The early modern period is arguably the most pivotal of all in the study of the mind, teeming with a variety of conceptions of mind. Some of these posed serious questions for assumptions about the nature of the mind, many of which still depended on notions of the soul and God. It is an era that witnessed the emergence of theories and arguments which continue to animate the study of philosophy of mind, such as dualism, vitalism, materialism and idealism.

Covering pivotal figures in philosophy such as Descartes, Hobbes, Kant, Leibniz, Cavendish, and Spinoza, Philosophy of Mind in the Early Modern and Modern Ages provides an outstanding survey of philosophy of mind of the period. Following an introduction by Rebecca Copenhaver, sixteen specially commissioned chapters by an international team of contributors discuss key topics, thinkers and debates, including:

• Hobbes
• Descartes’s philosophy of mind and its early critics
• consciousness
• the later Cartesians
• Malebranche
• Cavendish
• Locke
• Spinoza
• Descartes and Leibniz
• perception and sensation
• desires
• mental substance and mental activity
• Hume
• Kant.

Essential reading for students and researchers in philosophy of mind, enlightenment philosophy, and the history of philosophy, Philosophy of Mind in the Early Modern and Modern Ages is also a valuable resource for those in related disciplines such as Religion, History of Psychology, and History of Science.

Rebecca Copenhaver is Professor of Philosophy at Lewis and Clark College, USA. Her work has appeared in the Canadian Journal of Philosophy, Res Philosophica, Philosophical Quarterly, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, History of Philosophy Quarterly, Journal for the History of Philosophy, British Journal for the History of Philosophy and the Oxford Handbook of British Philosophy in the 18th Century. Copenhaver is the editor of the Seventeenth and Eighteenth-century Philosophy section of the Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy.