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Mindsight

Image, Dream, Meaning
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( 33 ratings, 4 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Mindset by Colin McGinn delves into the intricate connections between the mind and perception, exploring how our mental processes shape our understanding of the world. Blending insights from philosophy and psychology, the book examines concepts like consciousness and scepticism, aiming to deepen our grasp of how humans think and perceive reality. McGinn presents a compelling analysis of the philosophical and psychological dimensions of the mind's inner workings.
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you're intrigued by the intersection between philosophy and psychology, exploring the nature of consciousness, perception, and the mind. Colin McGinn provides thought-provoking insights into how our mental faculties shape our understanding of reality, making it a fascinating read for those interested in cognitive science and philosophical inquiry.

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The guiding thread of this book is the distinction McGinn draws a distinction between perception and imagination, showing what the differences are, arguing that imagination is a sui generis mental faculty. His overall claim is that imagination pervades our mental life, obeys its own distinctive principles, and merits much more attention.

This book contains the most innovative and important work that Colin McGinn has done in the course of his distinguished career. It has the potential to be an extraordinarily influential book, and to create, almost single-handedly, a new area of systematic study in analytic philosophy of mind: the philosophy of the imagination. Work done in this new area could provide a foundation for work done in many other areas, including the epistemology of perception, the metaphysics of intentionality, the scientific understanding of dreaming, psychosis, and the creativity of our linguistic abilities. -- Ram Neta, Professor of Philosophy, University of North Carolina McGinn's book is first rate, manifesting all the qualities of incisive argument, original thought and clear, direct, lively, pithy writing for which he is celebrated. -- Malcolm Budd, Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, University College London

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

How to imagine the imagination is a topic that draws philosophers the way flowers draw honeybees. From Plato and Aristotle to Wittgenstein and Sartre, philosophers have talked and written about this most elusive of topics—that is, until contemporary analytic philosophy of mind developed. Perhaps it is the vast range of the topic that has scared off our contemporaries, ranging as it does from mental images to daydreams.

The guiding thread of this book is the distinction Colin McGinn draws between perception and imagination. Clearly, seeing an object is similar in certain respects to forming a mental image of it, but it is also different. McGinn shows what the differences are, arguing that imagination is a sui generis mental faculty. He goes on to discuss the nature of dreaming and madness, contending that these are primarily imaginative phenomena.

In the second half of the book, McGinn focuses on what he calls cognitive (as opposed to sensory) imagination and investigates the role of imagination in logical reasoning, belief formation, the understanding of negation and possibility, and the comprehension of meaning. His overall claim is that imagination pervades our mental life, obeys its own distinctive principles, and merits much more attention.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Colin McGinn's Mindsight is praised for its innovative approach to the philosophy of imagination, offering a blend of speculative and stimulating ideas that depart from conventional evolutionary psychology. Reviewers appreciate its lively style and see it as essential reading for philosophers interested in the workings of the mind, with the potential to influence new areas in analytic philosophy. The book is noted for its engaging writing and capacity to challenge perceptions of analytic philosophy as dry and unengaging.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780674022478

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 September 2006

Country: United States

Imprint: Harvard University Press

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 19.0mm

Width: 140.0mm

Height: 210.0mm

Weight: 295g

Pages: 224

About the Author

Colin McGinn is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Miami. He is the author of many books, including Consciousness and Its Objects and The Character of Mind.

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