On the Contrary: Critical Essays, 1987-1997 by Paul M. Churchland (PDF)

Description

Paul and Patricia Churchland take on their critics — with verve, combativeness, and generosity.Paul M. and Patricia S. Churchland are towering figures in the fields of philosophy, neuroscience, and consciousness. This collection was prepared in the belief that the most useful and revealing of anyone’s writings are often those shorter essays penned in conflict with or criticism of one’s professional colleagues. The essays present the Churchlands’ critical responses to a variety of philosophical positions advanced by some two dozen philosophical theorists. The book is divided into three parts: part I, Folk Psychology and Eliminative Materialism; part II, Meaning, Qualia, and Emotion: The Several Dimensions of Consciousness; and part III, the Philosophy of Science. V. S. Ramachandran and Rick Grush are coauthors on two of the essays.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review Paul Feyerabend once wrote, ‘the hardest task needs the lightest hand.’ The Churchlands have the light hand, and put it to good use in On the Contrary. Ranging over some of the most controversial topics of the past decade, the book illustrates and elaborates their influential perspective on mind, knowledge, and science. It is written in the familiar Churchland style-feisty, but always gracious; fast-moving but without superficiality; ambitious, and yet modest. (Tim van Gelder, Department of Philosophy, The University of Melbourne, Australia)These provocative essays by the Churchlands herald the impact that advances in our understanding of the brain are having on science, society, and who we imagine ourselves to be. (Terrence J. Sejnowski, Professor, Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Investigator, Hughes Medical Institute) About the Author Paul M. Churchland is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego. He is the author of The Engine of Reason, the Seat of the Soul, Matter and Consciousness: A Contemporary Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind (both published by the MIT Press), and other books.Patricia S. Churchland is President’s Professor of Philosophy Emerita at the University of California, San Diego, and Adjunct Professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences. She is the author of many books, including Neurophilosophy and Brain-Wise (both published by the MIT Press).

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐A good collection of essays by recognized leaders in a burgeoning field of philosophy. Some are only useful if what the article is discussing is quite familiar to the reader. This holds in particular for some of the articles on qualia and the article on R. Penrose. It could also be said that the article on Dennett could have been marginally better if the last part, concerning his motivations, were snipped.

⭐If you are an eliminative materialist then you need help! Not that there aren’t some interesting observations in this book – see the chapter with new data on “filling in” – but Churchland’s tired example of Maxwell’s discovery of electromagnetic waves only demonstrates how subjective the entire world of science really is. A more interesting example might be Maxwell’s equations and how they relate to entropy, but I suspect that Churchland’s actual knowledge of physics is more on the level of Betty Crocker’s knowledge of microwaves…As for neural nets: go read Perlovsky! I find it odd that Churchland, who loudly proclaims nets as the future of AI, doesn’t appear to have read any of Perlovsky’s papers; but I suspect he’s too busy waving magnets in his living room generating EM waves.

⭐Essays by two key figures in modern philosophy of mind. Great rebuttals to dualists with detailed logic and reasoning. Essential reading for anyone interested in consciousness.

⭐

⭐

Keywords

Free Download On the Contrary: Critical Essays, 1987-1997 in PDF format
On the Contrary: Critical Essays, 1987-1997 PDF Free Download
Download On the Contrary: Critical Essays, 1987-1997 1999 PDF Free
On the Contrary: Critical Essays, 1987-1997 1999 PDF Free Download
Download On the Contrary: Critical Essays, 1987-1997 PDF
Free Download Ebook On the Contrary: Critical Essays, 1987-1997