Philosophical Psychopathology: Philosophy without Thought Experiments

✍ Scribed by Garry Young

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2013
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 215
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Garry Young presents examples of rare pathological conditions such as blindsight, anarchic hand, alien control and various delusional states to inform fundamental questions on topics relating to consciousness, intentional action, thought and rationality, as well as what is required to possess certain kinds of knowledge. Rather than trying to answer these questions by inventing far-fetched scenario or 'thought experiments', this book argues that there is a better but, at present, under-used resource available: namely, clinical case studies evidence. Thus, when inquiry as to whether consciousness must necessarily accompany our intentional action, instead of creating a philosophical zombie why not look to the actions of those suffering from blindsight or visual agnosia. Similarly, when considering whether it is possible to doubt that one thinks, why invent a malicious demon as Descartes did when one can draw on delusional evidence from those suffering from thought insertion who deny certain thoughts are theirs.

✦ Table of Contents

1. Introduction
   PART I: THE ROLE OF CONSCIOUSNESS IN INTENTIONAL ACTION
2. Philosophical Issue 1: Conscious Inessentialism
3. Blindsight and Other Visuomotor Pathologies
4. Philosophical Issue 2: What Makes an Action Intentional?
5. Anarchic Hand
6. Alien Control
7. Philosophical Issue 2 Revisited: Conscious Decision Making and Free Will
   PART II: THOUGHT, SUBJECTIVITY AND RATIONALITY
8. Philosophical Issue 3: What Makes a Thought My Thought?
9. Thought Insertion
10. Philosophical Issue 4: What is it to be Rational?
11. The Capgras Delusion
12. The Cotard Delusion
    PART III: KNOWLEDGE HOW AND EPISTEMOLOGICAL REDUCTION
13. Philosophical Issue 5: Ryle's Dichotomy and the Intellectualist Challenge
14. Visuomotor Pathologies Revisited
    Epilogue