Review Of Mind And Common Sense: Philosophical Essays On Commonsense Psychology Edited By R. J. Bogdan

Interest in problems of commonsense psychology--its forms, utility, and possible dysfunctions--is currently thriving in a variety of disciplines. Bogdan has invited seven highly reputed philosophers to contribute their views, and to their work adds an elucidating introduction along with his own contribution to the colloquy. Perhaps the critical unifying issue of the book is the cognitive science question of whether the posits of commonsense psychology are in any way informative about the nature of actual processes within persons. The answers range from a qualified “yes” (essays by Jonathan Bennett, Adam Morton, and Bogdan) to the eliminative materialist “no” (represented most strongly by Paul Churchland). A useful paper by Alexander Rosenberg also demonstrates major shortcomings in the eliminative materialist proposals. The book is deficient in its blindness to important social psychological, sociological, and anthropological views of commonsense psychology, but for those concerned with issues intersecting cognitive science and philosophy, the volume is highly recommended. For advanced undergraduates and above