The Developing Mind: A Philosophical Introduction

ISBN-13: 9780415566230 / Angielski / Miękka / 2020 / 258 str.

Stephen Butterfill

Opis

The development of children's minds raises fundamental psychological and scientific questions, from how we are able to know about and describe basic aspects of the world such as words, numbers and colours to how we come to grasp causes, actions and intentions. This is the first book to properly introduce and examine philosophical questions concerning children's cognitive development and considers the implications of scientific breakthroughs for the philosophy of developmental psychology. Each chapter explores a central topic in developmental psychology from a philosophical perspective:

• social interaction and the developing mind
• children's awareness of objects and the question of 'object permanence'
• knowledge of numbers
• children and the acquisition of knowledge of colour
• language acquisition and the 'mapping problem'
• children's knowledge of the relation between actions and goals
• belief acquisition and the developing mind.

Throughout the book Stephen Butterfill draws on several important case studies, including experiments with children on memory, 'false belief tasks', and the process by which children come to see other people, not just themselves, as capable of experience. He shows how these questions can illuminate some fundamental debates in philosophy of mind, such as the mind's possession of concepts, rationality and the mind, the possibility of objective thought, and the nature of perceptual experience. Additional features, such as chapter summaries, annotated further reading and a glossary provide helpful tools for those coming to the subject for the first time.

Recenzje

"It is fantastically difficult to cross the boundary between philosophy and psychology without getting embarrassingly stuck on the fence. Butterfill's book demonstrates why the risk is more than balanced by the potential benefits for both sides. It will be an invaluable textbook, and should be read by anyone interested in the tight relationship between cutting-edge theory and evidence in developmental psychology and philosophy of mind." - Ian Apperly, University of Birmingham, UK

Spis treści

Preface  1. Introduction  Part 1: Physical Objects  2. Principles of Object Perception  3. The Simple View  4. The Linking Problem  5. Core Knowledge  6. Object Indexes and Motor Representations of Objects  7. Metacognitive Feelings  8. Conclusion to Part 1  Interlude on Innateness  9. Innateness  Part 2: Minds and Actions  10. Action  11. A Theory of Goal Tracking  12. Mind: the Puzzle  13. Three Levels of Analysis  14. Mind: a Solution?  15. Joint Action  16. Conclusion to Part 2  17. Conclusion.  Glossary  Bibliography  Index

O autorze

Stephen Butterfill is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warwick, UK.