This is an introduction to contemporary debates in the philosophy of mind. In particular, the book focuses on the controversial eliminativist and instrumentalist attacks - from the likes of Quine, Dennett, and the Churchlands - on the ordinary concept of mind. In so doing, the author offers an explication and defence of mental realism, and shows how Fodor's representational theory of mind affords a compelling account of much of the ordinary mental talk of beliefs, hopes, and desires.

This lucid and engaging volume provides an introduction to the essential issues and concepts of contemporary analytic philosophy.

Aimed at undergraduates, Contemporary Ethics presupposes little or no familiarity with ethics and is written in a clear and engaging style. It provides students with a sympathetic but critical guide to utilitarianism, explaining its different forms and exploring the debates it has spawned. The book leads students through a number of current issues in contemporary ethics that are connected to controversies over and within utilitarianism. At the same time, it uses utilitarianism to introduce students to ethics as a subject. In these ways, the book is not only a guide to utilitarianism,...

"Explanation and Understanding, perhaps von Wright's best-known book, showed the influence of Wittgenstein, but marked a clean break with the positivism of his youth. He suggested that human action could not be explained causally by scientific or 'natural' laws, but had to be understood 'intentionally' a concept connected with wants and beliefs developed in a social and cultural context." Daily Telegraph"This is a very good book packed with much original material; it also contains illuminating reinterpretations of some familiar theories and arguments. The range of topics treated includes...

This volume provides a vivid and engaging introduction to contemporary philosophy of religion.

This volume provides a lucid and distinct introduction to multiculturalism and the philosophy of social science.

• Distinct, engaging and timely 'multicultural' approach
• Clear, non-technical overview of the nature of social inquiry
• First volume of outstanding new -Contemporary Philosophy- series

Each volume in this series provides a clear, comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to the main philosophical topics of contemporary debate.

This book examines town and country planning policy in twentieth-century Britain as an important aspect of state activity. Tracing the origins of planning ideals and practice, Gordon Cherry charts the adoption by state, both at the central and local level, of measures to control and regulate features of Britain's urban and rural environments.

The author examines how town planning first took root as a professional activity and an academic discipline around the turn of the last century, largely as a reaction to the apparent problems of the late Victorian city. He shows, too, that...

This volume provides a vivid and engaging introduction to contemporary philosophy of religion.

Each volume in this series provides a clear, comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to the main philosophical topics of contemporary debate.