Abstract
The results of a recent survey on the philosophical views of contemporary, mainly Anglo-Saxon professional philosophers have shown that a supposed predominance of physicalist reductionist positions in the philosophy of neurosciences is far from unanimous. This paper explores one possible philosophical position rooting a non-physicalist reductionist conception of mind. It suggests and argues that a classical philosophical frame, Aristotelian hylomorphism, provides adequate non-reductionist answers that do not fall into dualisms. Finally, it offers the corresponding conclusions.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bourget D, Chalmers DJ. What do philosophers believe? Philos Stud. 2018;170:465–500.
Stoljar D. Physicalism. Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, 2015. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/physicalism/. Accessed 29 Jan 2015.
Putnam H. The nature of mental states. In: Mind, language and reality: philosophical papers, vol. II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1975. p. 429–40.
Davidson D. Mental events. Reprinted in Davidson, editor. Essays on actions and events. Oxford: Clarendon Press; 1980, p. 207–85.
McLaughlin B, Bennett K. Supervenience, Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy, 2011. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/supervenience/. Accesed 29 Jan 2015.
O’Connor T, Hong Yu Wong. Emergent properties, Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy; 2012. On line. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/properties-emergent/. Accesed 30 Jan 2015.
Hasker W. The emergent self. Ithaca: Cornell University Press; 1999.
Varela F, Thompson E. The embodied mind. Cambridge: MIT Press; 1991.
Thompson E. Life and mind: from autopoiesis to neurophenomenology. A tribute to Francisco Varela. Phenomenol Cogn Sci. 2004;3:381–98.
Di Paolo EA. Autopoiesis, adaptability, teleology, agency. Phenomenol Cogn Sci. 2005;4:429–52.
Mossio M, Saborido C, Moreno A. An organizational account of biological functions. Br J Philos Sci. 2009;60(4):813–41.
Auletta G, Ellis GFR, Jaeger L. Top-down causation by information control: from a philosophical problem to a scientific research programme. J R Soc Interface. 2008;5:1159–72.
Aristotle, The complete works of Aristotle. The Revised Oxford Translation, Barnes J, editor. Princeton University Press, 6th printing with corrections; 1995.
Cohen SM. Aristotle’s metaphysics. Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy; 2012. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-metaphysics/#SubMatSub. Accessed 2 Feb 2015.
Lang D. The Thomistic doctrine of prime matter. Laval théologique et philosophique. 1998;54(2):367–85.
Marmodoro A. Aristotle’s Hylomorphism without reconditioning. Philos Inquiry. 2013;36(1–2):5–18.
Aristotle, On the soul, trans. Hett WS, Loeb Classical. Cambridge: Harvard University Press; 1957.
Irwin TW. Aristotle’s first principles. Oxford: Clarendon Press; 1990.
Brock S. Spirituality and hylemorphism. In: Doctor Communis, Proceedings of the XII Plenary Session, Vatican City; 2013, p. 340–45.
Jaworski W. Philosophy of mind. In: A comprehensive introduction. Malden/Oxford: Willey-Blackwell; 2011.
Bostock D. Space, time, matter and form. Essays on Aristotle’s physics. Oxford: Clarendon Press; 2006.
Frede M. On Aristotle’s conception of the soul. In: Nussbaum M, Rorty AO, editors. Essays on Aristotle’s De Anima. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1995. p. 93–107.
Shields C. The active mind of De Anima iii 5. Stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. 2010. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-psychology/active-mind.html. Accessed 29 Jan 2015.
Kretzmann N. Philosophy of mind. In: Kretzmann N, Stump E, editors. The Cambridge companion to Aquinas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1993. p. 128–59.
Feser E. Philosophy of mind. London: One World Publications; 2006.
Aquinas T. Summa Theologiae. Torino: Marietti; 1950.
Aquinas T. De ente et essentia. http://legacy.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/aquinas-esse.asp. Accessed 23 Mar 2015.
Aquinas T. De Principiis Naturae. http://dhspriory.org/thomas/DePrincNaturae.htm. Accessed 23 Mar 2015.
Aquinas T. Summa contra gentiles. Torino: Marietti; 1946.
Aquinas T. De Potentia. In: Quaestiones Disputatae, vol. II. Torino: Marietti; 1949. p. 7–83.
Aquinas T. De Anima. In: Quaestiones Disputatae, vol. II. Torino: Marietti; 1949. p. 276–362.
Dewan L. St. Thomas, form, and incorruptibility. In: Dewan L, editor. Form and being. Studies in Thomistic metaphysics. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press; 2006. p. 175–87.
Dewan L. Saint Thomas and form as something divine in things. Milwaukee: Marquette University Press; 2007.
Aquinas T. In octo libros Physicorum Aristotelis expositio. Torino: Marietti; 1950.
Aquinas T. The Commentary of St. Thomas Aquinas on Aristotle’s treatise on the soul, translated by Kocourek RA. St. Paul: The College of Saint Thomas; 1946. On line. https://ia802704.us.archive.org/11/items/CommentaryOfSt.ThomasAquinasOnAristotlesTreatiseOnTheSoul.Tanslated/kocourek.pdf. Accessed 4 Apr 2015.
Pasnau R. Philosophy of mind and human nature. In: Davis B, Stump E, editors. The Oxford handbook of Aquinas. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press; 2012. p. 348–68.
Stump E. Resurrection and the separated soul. In: Davis B, Stump E, editors. The Oxford handbook of Aquinas. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press; 2012. p. 458–66.
Nagel T. Mind and cosmos. Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press; 2012.
Jeffreys DS. The soul is alive and well: non-reductive physicalism and emergent mental properties. Theol Sci. 2004;2(2):205–85.
Madden JD. Mind, matter and nature. Washington D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press; 2013.
Acknowledgments
I express my gratitude to William Jaworski, Juan José Sanguineti, Stephen Brock, Ivana Anton Mlinar, Miguel Verstraete, Ceferino Muñoz, Santiago Gelonch and Juan Francisco Franck for useful comments on previous versions of this paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Crespo, R.F. (2017). Aristotelian Hylomorphism: A Framework for Non-physicalist Philosophers About Philosophy of Mind. In: Gargiulo, P., Mesones-Arroyo, H. (eds) Psychiatry and Neuroscience Update - Vol. II. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53126-7_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53126-7_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-53125-0
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-53126-7
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)