Philosophical and Empirical Approaches to Psychology

Mentalism vs. Antimentalism

Giuseppe Lo Dico

Philosophical and Empirical Approaches to Psychology: Mentalism vs. Anti-Mentalism philosophically analyzes four different approaches to psychology: introspectionism, behaviourism, cognitive psychology, and cognitive neuroscience to explore the concept of “the mind,” which developed from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century up through present day psychology. The resulting ideas originating from these approaches are divided into two main groups in this book, mentalism (whose supporters assume that mind is not reducible to something else) and anti-mentalism (whose supporters assume that mind is indeed reducible to something else). This book argues that adopting one idea over another can have a profound influence in a psychologist’s research. Further, the author shows that some controversial psychological notions like “consciousness” pertain to a particular mentalistic approach. Many psychologists do not consider such notions scientific, but he argues that this depends upon their adherence to a certain anti-mentalistic approach or to a specific mentalistic perspective. The book examines these issues by assessing experimental psychology in relation to neurobiology and philosophy, offering an integration of philosophical and theoretical chapters along with empirical and experimental chapters. Theoretically, the arguments draw from philosophy of psychology and experimental psychology.
Using empirical research, Philosophical and Empirical Approaches to Psychology examines the role of the various mentalistic and anti-mentalistic approaches to psychology by integrating epistemological analysis and empirical research.

Lexington Books

Pages: 194 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9⅜

978-1-4985-1660-0 • Hardback • February 2016 • $108.00 • (£83.00)

978-1-4985-1661-7 • eBook • February 2016 • $102.50 • (£79.00)

Subjects: Psychology / Cognitive Psychology & Cognition, Psychology / Cognitive Neuroscience & Cognitive Neuropsychology, Philosophy / Methodology, Philosophy / Epistemology

Philosophical and Empirical Approaches to Psychology

Mentalism vs. Antimentalism

Hardback

eBook

Summary

Philosophical and Empirical Approaches to Psychology: Mentalism vs. Anti-Mentalism philosophically analyzes four different approaches to psychology: introspectionism, behaviourism, cognitive psychology, and cognitive neuroscience to explore the concept of “the mind,” which developed from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century up through present day psychology. The resulting ideas originating from these approaches are divided into two main groups in this book, mentalism (whose supporters assume that mind is not reducible to something else) and anti-mentalism (whose supporters assume that mind is indeed reducible to something else). This book argues that adopting one idea over another can have a profound influence in a psychologist’s research. Further, the author shows that some controversial psychological notions like “consciousness” pertain to a particular mentalistic approach. Many psychologists do not consider such notions scientific, but he argues that this depends upon their adherence to a certain anti-mentalistic approach or to a specific mentalistic perspective. The book examines these issues by assessing experimental psychology in relation to neurobiology and philosophy, offering an integration of philosophical and theoretical chapters along with empirical and experimental chapters. Theoretically, the arguments draw from philosophy of psychology and experimental psychology.
Using empirical research, Philosophical and Empirical Approaches to Psychology examines the role of the various mentalistic and anti-mentalistic approaches to psychology by integrating epistemological analysis and empirical research.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 194 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9⅜

978-1-4985-1660-0 • Hardback • February 2016 • $108.00 • (£83.00)

978-1-4985-1661-7 • eBook • February 2016 • $102.50 • (£79.00)

Subjects: Psychology / Cognitive Psychology & Cognition, Psychology / Cognitive Neuroscience & Cognitive Neuropsychology, Philosophy / Methodology, Philosophy / Epistemology

Author

Giuseppe Lo Dico is a postdoctoral fellow at Catholic University of Milan.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Chapter 1: Mentalism
Chapter 2: Anti-Mentalism
Chapter 3: New Mentalism
Chapter 4: New Anti-Mentalism
Chapter 5: A Re-Evaluation of the Damasio’s Somatic Marker Hypothesis
Chapter 6: Re-testing the Somatic Marker Hypothesis I: Replication and Behavioural Data
Chapter 7: Re-testing the Somatic Marker Hypothesis II: Physiological and Qualitative Data
Chapter 8: Doubts on the Somatic Marker Hypothesis
Chapter 9: Concluding Considerations
Appendix A
Appendix B
References
About the Author

Philosophical and Empirical Approaches to Psychology

Mentalism vs. Antimentalism

Giuseppe Lo Dico

Philosophical and Empirical Approaches to Psychology

Mentalism vs. Antimentalism

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