
What are the most fundamental features of the world? Do minds stand outside the natural order? Is a unified picture of mental and physical reality possible? The Mind in Nature provides a staunchly realist account of the world as a unified system incorporating both the mental and the physical. C. B. Martin, an original and influential exponent of 'ontologically serious' metaphysics, echoes Locke's dictum that 'all things that exist are only particulars', and argues that properties are powerful qualities. He also spells out the implications of this view for philosophical conceptions of causation, intentionality, consciousness, and the mind-body problem. Martin emphasizes the importance of non-conscious 'vegetative' systems, which provide clear examples of intentionality in the form of representational use. The slide from representational use to consciousness involves a change in the material of use, but not the form of representation. A concluding chapter provides an argument for the view that an ontology of particular substances and properties leads ineluctably to monism: the bus we board with Locke takes us directly to the world of Spinoza and Einstein. Along the way, we are led to understand the nature of minds and conscious states of mind in a way that avoids both reductionism (the idea that mental is reducible to the non-mental) and dualism (the idea that mental substances or properties differ dramatically from physical substances and properties).
This work investigates whether a unified metaphysical framework can reconcile the existence of mental states with the physical laws of the natural world. C. B. Martin, a prominent figure in contemporary metaphysics, utilizes an 'ontologically serious' approach to argue that properties are powerful qualities inherent in particular substances. By drawing on the philosophical traditions of Locke, Spinoza, and Einstein, the author constructs a monist perspective that seeks to bypass the traditional divide between reductionism and dualism.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Experts recognize this work as a significant contribution to the debate on the mind-body problem, particularly for its rigorous defense of ontological monism. Readers frequently note the high level of academic density, making it a text primarily suited for advanced students and professional philosophers.
Page Count:
241
Publication Date:
2010-01-01
Publisher:
OUP Oxford
ISBN-10:
0191614602
ISBN-13:
9780191614606
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