The Metaphysics of Mind

The Metaphysics of Mind presents and discusses the major contemporary theories of the nature of mind including Dualism Physicalism Role-Functionalism Russellian Monism Panpsychism and Eliminativism. Its primary goal is to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the theories in question including their prospects for explaining the special qualitative character of sensations and perceptual experiences the special outer-directedness of beliefs desires and other intentional states andmore generallythe place of mind in the world of nature and the relation between mental states and the behaviors that they (seem to) cause. It also discusses briefly some further questions about the metaphysics of mind namely whether groups of individuals or entire communities can possess mental states that cannot be reduced to the mental states of the individuals in those communities and whether the boundaries between mind and world are as sharp as they may seem.