'Representation in Mind' is the first book in the new series 'Perspectives on Cognitive Science' and includes well known contributors in the areas of philosophy of mind, psychology and cognitive science.
The papers in this volume offer new ideas, fresh approaches and new criticisms of old ideas. The papers deal in new ways with fundamental questions concerning the problem of mental representation that one contributor, Robert Cummins, has described as "THE problem in philosophy of mind for some time now." The editors' introductory overview considers the problem for which mental representation has been seen as an answer, sketching an influential framework, outlining some of the issues addressed and then providing an overview of the papers.
Issues include: the relation between mental representation and public, non-mental representation; misrepresentation; the role of mental representations in intelligent action; the relation between representation and consciousness; the relation between folk psychology and explanations invoking mental representations

Seemingly unrelated controversies about consciousness, language, and vision have a deep connection, a mistake that has not been noticed. Spectator in the Cartesian Theater: Where Theories of Mind Went Wrong since Descartes suggests that this error arises not from what is put into a theory but rather from what is missing. In Daniel Dennett’s famous metaphor of a “Cartesian Theater,” a homunculus or “little man” watches the screen on which our thoughts and sensations appear. Peter Slezak argues that we fail to notice that we are doing an essential part of the work of the theory and, therefore, we are the spectators in the Cartesian theory—like looking for our spectacles while wearing them. As philosopher Jerry Fodor pointed out, “The question is not what is obvious to the theorist; the question is what follows from the theory.” This book argues that a proper understanding of the mistake reveals a deep connection among a range of seemingly unrelated problems at the forefront of controversy about consciousness, language, and vision, among others. In his physiological writings neglected by philosophers, Descartes explained how the pseudo-explanation arises, as Chomsky warns, by depending on “an intelligent and comprehending reader,” the central theme of the book.