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Thomas Reid’s Philosophy of Mind: Consciousness and Intentionality
Author(s) -
Copenhaver Rebecca
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
philosophy compass
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.973
H-Index - 25
ISSN - 1747-9991
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-9991.2006.00023.x
Subject(s) - intentionality , consciousness , epistemology , philosophy of mind , shadow (psychology) , philosophy , perception , electromagnetic theories of consciousness , order (exchange) , theory of mind , psychology , metaphysics , psychoanalysis , cognition , finance , neuroscience , economics
Thomas Reid’s epistemological ambitions are decisively at the center of his work. However, if we take such ambitions to be the whole story, we are apt to overlook the theory of mind that Reid develops and deploys against the theory of ideas. Reid’s philosophy of mind is sophisticated and strikingly contemporary, and has, until recently, been lost in the shadow of his other philosophical accomplishments. Here I survey some aspects of Reid’s theory of mind that I find most interesting. I examine whether Reid is a mysterian about the mind, whether Reid has a direct realist theory of perception, and whether Reid has a higher‐order, or “inner‐sense,” view of consciousness. Along the way I will mention portions of the secondary literature that examine these aspects and point out whether and to what degree I part ways with the interpretations present in the literature.