Themes of action and life in four philosophical theories of mind
Abstract
The thesis makes use of the framework of action and life to
consider four philosophical theories of mind, enunciated in the
writings of Rene Descartes, David Hume, William James, and
Thomas Nagel. Showing how each theory makes an appeal to
action or life in order to attempt to provide a characterization of
mind that is not too restrictive nor too lax is the concern of the
extensive historical portion of the thesis. It is on the basis of
the success or failure of these appeals to the mind's living
experience of its own activity that the four theories are
evaluated. By way of conclusion, the reprecussions of these
successes and failures for the contemporary activity of
philosophizing about mind are briefly examined.