Externalism and the Mental
Madhucchanda Sen
Abstract
A key concern of philosophy is the mind’s relation with the world. The debate between externalism and internalism is not a new one and a great number of thinkers have contributed to it in the recent past. This book explores the inherent contradictions in the traditional line of thought that has shaped this debate so far. The book analyses how an understanding built on compartmentalized categories has stifled the process of philosophical thinking. Despite stating at the outset her inclination towards externalism, the author does not merely take sides in an age-old debate, but rather approaches ... More
A key concern of philosophy is the mind’s relation with the world. The debate between externalism and internalism is not a new one and a great number of thinkers have contributed to it in the recent past. This book explores the inherent contradictions in the traditional line of thought that has shaped this debate so far. The book analyses how an understanding built on compartmentalized categories has stifled the process of philosophical thinking. Despite stating at the outset her inclination towards externalism, the author does not merely take sides in an age-old debate, but rather approaches it from a fresh perspective. By challenging our understanding of what is meant by the external and the internal and by showing how the distinction between them may occasionally blur, the book questions the very existence of the divide that has sustained the debate under discussion. Pointing towards the necessity of a paradigm shift in the way the mind–world relation has been perceived, this work explores the possibility of a dialogue emerging between analytic philosophy, phenomenology, and Navya-Nyāya—an engagement that would cut across the divide between Eastern and Western philosophical traditions.
Keywords:
externalism–internalism debate,
singular demonstrative thought,
inner–outer distinction,
Myth of the Given,
empirical knowledge,
constitutive relation,
phenomenological externalism,
perception,
Navya-Nyāya
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2015 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780199453603 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: April 2015 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199453603.001.0001 |
