Vincent Descombes brings together an astonishingly large body of
philosophical and anthropological thought to present a
thoroughgoing critique of contemporary cognitivism and to develop a
powerful new philosophy of the mind.
Beginning with a critical examination of American cognitivism
and French structuralism, Descombes launches a more general
critique of all philosophies that view the mind in strictly causal
terms and suppose that the brain--and not the person--thinks.
Providing a broad historical perspective, Descombes draws
surprising links between cognitivism and earlier anthropological
projects, such as Levi-Strauss's work on the symbolic status of
myths. He identifies as incoherent both the belief that mental
states are detached from the world and the idea that states of mind
are brain states; these assumptions beg the question of the
relation between mind and brain.
In place of cognitivism, Descombes offers an anthropologically
based theory of mind that emphasizes the mind's collective nature.
Drawing on Wittgenstein, he maintains that mental acts are properly
attributed to the person, not the brain, and that states of mind,
far from being detached from the world, require a historical and
cultural context for their very intelligibility.
Available in English for the first time, this is the most
outstanding work of one of France's finest contemporary
philosophers. It provides a much-needed link between the
continental and Anglo-American traditions, and its impact will
extend beyond philosophy to anthropology, psychology, critical
theory, and French studies."
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