An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind (Cambridge Introductions to Philosophy)

I am a tremendous admirer of Jonathan Lowe's books, both for his even-handed, thorough, and nuanced treatment of his topics and for the extraordinary lucidity of his expository prose style. So, naturally, I ordered this volume as soon as it became available, with high expectations.I was not disappointed. This fine volume is a complete, systematic introduction to the philosophy of mind. And Lowe's remarkable exposition will be accessible to the beginner but sacrifices nothing in precision or completeness in order to achieve that accessibility.The main feature that sets this volume apart from other apparently similar introductions is the balance Lowe strikes between philosophy proper and cognitive science. Lowe spares no effort to incorporate relevant results from empirical research, but he is quite unwilling to concede that philosophy has simply become the handmaid of empirical psychology or neuroscience. In spirit though not in detail, his approach reminds me of Brand Blanshard's in _The Nature of Thought_.Moreover, Lowe's presentation is more concerned with raising important questions than with determining their answers. Some of the most valuable passages in his book simply point out the existence of significant _problems_ and canvass the possible solutions. In some cases he prefers one solution to another and says so, giving his reasons. But in every case the entire array of proposals receives a fair hearing, with references.The text consists of an introduction and nine topical chapters, devoted in turn to these title topics: minds, bodies, and people; mental states; mental content; sensation and appearance; perception; thought and language; human rationality and artifical intelligence; action, intention, and will; and personal identity and self-knowledge. The order of the chapters is of course important, but I find that each can be read as a mostly self-contained introduction to its topic.The coverage is extremely thorough. Lowe's discussion introduces a wide range of subissues, including e.g. whether minds are "things," the ontological status of propositions, sense-data vs. "adverbial" accounts of sensory experience, the existence (or otherwise) of qualia, the meaning(s) of rationality, the relevance of these possible meanings to the claims of empirical research, the nature of intentionality, John Searle's famous "Chinese room" experiment, and the meaning of "free will." (This last topic is one of several that might not ordinarily be regarded as part of the "philosophy of mind." Lowe acknowledges as much but finds good reason to discuss the experiments of Benjamin Libet -- the ones that appeared to show that certain choices actually _followed_ certain changes in the brain by as much as a fifth of a second.)Here as elsewhere, Lowe's great strength is his ability to make issues clear, including his uncanny skill in raising a broad range of possibilities and objections within a just few paragraphs or pages without sacrifice of depth. I really don't know how to convey, in a short review, the remarkable effectiveness of Lowe's exposition; suffice it to say that he is a gifted prose stylist whose straightforward clarity is admirably suited to philosophical material.In short, this volume is a wonderfully clear presentation of its title topic, suitable to readers of any philosophical commitment or none. Lowe's own views are quite defensible in their own right, of course, and readers may be led to consult his other works (of which I have also reviewed his excellent book _Locke on Human Understanding_). However, quite apart from agreement on particular issues, any reader seeking an introduction to the philosophy of mind can hardly find a better, fairer, or more thorough guide than Lowe. I can't praise this workmanlike volume enough.

I selected this text for a 300-level undergraduate course, primarily for the even-handedness of the topical coverage, and the author's refusal to embrace the trendy dogmas of computationalism and materialism. Lowe writes as if philosophy is still in the driver's seat. The book is meticulously organized and systematically presented. I have my own preferences for topical coverage, and Lowe omits some topics I would have included, but this is nothing a couple of supplementary articles can't fix.I would also say that the clarity and erudition of Lowe's writing style is a cut above the rest. There are surely some good writers like Kim and Searle who work this area. But there are some published philosophers whose writing is so confused, it is abusive to make undergraduates read them. While the level of discussion is high, no intelligent student will fail to understand Lowe because of the stylistic failings of the exposition.Perhaps Lowe's writing is a little too self-consciously reserved and a bit on the dry side. While a book like The Mind's I is a noisy open air market, full of color, funny smells, and a cacophony of shouting and squawking chickens, Lowe's book is a quiet, elegant bistro, with white linen and Mozart playing through discreetly placed speakers.Highly recommended.

Bear in mind that the author of this book assumes the reader has some familiarity with core philosophical concepts and methods of argumentation. If you do not, you will likely get bogged down, unless you are used to reading dense academic/psychological texts and are curious about the subject of philosophy of mind. That said, this is the best non-anthology introduction to philosophy of mind that I've read thus far. As far as philosophers go, he has a clear, simple style of writing (which is not to say inelegant, because it is not), and he covers an enormous amount of material skillfully and concisely. E.J. Lowe has a great "writing voice"; an air of distant familiarity and patient explanation. I love this book and I recommend to anyone with an interest in the POM or cognitive science.