Geoffrey Madell – författare

This is the first clear and non-technical introduction to philosophy through the works of the 18th century philosopher, David Hume. It covers every major philosophical issue commented upon by Hume, from epistemology, philosophy of mind, and metaphysics, to ethics and political philosophy, and the philosophy of religion. Looking first at Hume's discussion of each topic and clarifying his thoughts in jargon-free language, the book then relates his ideas to current contemporary thought. Readers are taken gently through both 18th century and contemporary philosophies and given lucid accounts of the key issues in each. Contents: Introduction; Where Does Thought Begin?; How Does Thought Proceed?; What Do We Mean by Cause and How Do We Reason from Experience?; What Do We Mean by Cause? II; Is It Rational to Be Guided by Experience?; What Is It to Believe that Something Is the Case?; Are Our Choices Free?; What Constitutes the Identity of a Person?; How Do Emotions Work?; The Mechanism of Sympathy; How to Make Moral Judgements; Is Religious Belief Rational?

In this volume, Geoffrey Madell develops a revised account of the self, making a compelling case for why the "simple" or "anti-criterial" view of personal identity warrants a robust defense. Madell critiques recent discussions of the self for focusing on features which are common to all selves, and which therefore fail to capture the uniqueness of each self. In establishing his own view of personal identity, Madell proposes (a) that there is always a gap between ‘A is f and g’ and ‘I am f and g’; (b), that a complete description of the world offered without recourse to indexicals will fail to account for the contingent truth that I am one of the persons described; and (c), that an account of conscious perspectives on the world must take into account what it means for an apparently arbitrary one of these perspectives to be mine. Engaging with contemporary positions on the first person, embodiment, psychological continuity, and other ongoing arguments, Madell contends that there can be no such thing as a criterion of personal identity through time, that no bodily or psychological continuity approach to the issue can succeed, and that personal identity through time must be absolute, not a matter of degree. Madell’s view that the nature of the self is substantively different from that of objects in the world will generate significant discussion and debate among philosophers of mind.