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Reading path · Beginner

An introduction to philosophy of mind

What is a mind, and how does it fit into a physical world? This path starts with two short books for newcomers, then reads Descartes and the princess who raised one of the sharpest early objections to him. It moves on to the twentieth-century reaction against Descartes and ends with the modern argument that consciousness cannot be explained in physical terms alone. Along the way you meet dualism, behaviourism, functionalism and eliminative materialism, each with its strongest critics. Allow about two months.

7 books, in order

  1. Step 1: Minds, Brains and Science

    John Searle · 1984

    Searle's six short lectures, given as the BBC Reith Lectures in 1984, introduce the mind–body problem. They include his Chinese Room argument: running the right program is not enough for understanding.

    Where to start
    Read the first two lectures, on the mind–body problem and on whether computers can think.
    Time
    2 evenings
    Difficulty
    Beginner

  2. Step 2: Meditations on First Philosophy

    René Descartes · 1641

    Descartes argues that the mind is a thinking thing really distinct from the body. Reading him first-hand shows what most later theories are reacting against.

    Where to start
    Read the Second Meditation, on the nature of the mind, and the Sixth, on material things and the real distinction between mind and body.
    Time
    2–3 evenings
    Difficulty
    Beginner

  3. Step 3: Matter and Consciousness

    Paul M. Churchland · 1984; revised 1988 and 2013

    Churchland's short textbook surveys the main theories of mind and links them to neuroscience and artificial intelligence. He defends eliminative materialism himself, so read his treatment of it critically.

    Where to start
    Read Chapter 2, 'The Ontological Problem (the Mind–Body Problem)', in the third edition (2013).
    Time
    1–2 weeks
    Difficulty
    Beginner

  4. Step 4: The Correspondence between Princess Elisabeth of Bohemia and René Descartes

    Elisabeth of Bohemia and René Descartes · 1643–1649; Elisabeth's letters first published 1879

    In 1643 Elisabeth asked Descartes how an immaterial soul could move a body, and kept pressing when his answers did not satisfy her. The exchange is the classic statement of the interaction problem.

    Where to start
    Read the 1643 letters on how the mind acts on the body, in Lisa Shapiro's edition (2007), which gives both sides.
    Time
    3–4 evenings
    Difficulty
    Intermediate

  5. Step 5: The Concept of Mind

    Gilbert Ryle · 1949

    Ryle attacks what he calls the official doctrine, the picture of a ghost in the machine, and argues that talk about minds is talk about abilities and dispositions. His idea of a category mistake is still widely used.

    Where to start
    Read Chapter I, 'Descartes' Myth', and Chapter II, 'Knowing How and Knowing That'.
    Time
    1–2 weeks
    Difficulty
    Intermediate

  6. Step 6: Mortal Questions

    Thomas Nagel · 1979

    Nagel's essay 'What Is It Like to Be a Bat?' argues that physical accounts of the mind leave out the subjective character of experience. It is about fifteen pages and repays several readings.

    Where to start
    Read the essay 'What Is It Like to Be a Bat?'; the other essays can wait.
    Time
    1 evening
    Difficulty
    Intermediate

  7. Step 7: The Conscious Mind: In Search of a Fundamental Theory

    David J. Chalmers · 1996

    Chalmers argues that no physical explanation can show why there is experience at all, the problem he calls hard, and defends a naturalistic dualism. It is long and technical, but the opening chapters are clear.

    Where to start
    Read the Introduction, 'Taking Consciousness Seriously', and Chapters 1 to 3, which build the case that consciousness cannot be reductively explained.
    Time
    3–4 weeks
    Difficulty
    Advanced

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