Armstrong's Materialist Theory of Mind

A Materialist Theory of Mind (1968) by David Armstrong is one of a handful of texts that began the physicalist revolution in the philosophy of mind. It is perhaps the most influential book in the field of the second half of the twentieth century. In this volume a distinguished international team of philosophers examine what we still owe to Armstrong's theory, and how to expand it, as well as looking back on how it came about. The first four chapters are historical in orientation, exploring how the book fits into the history of materialism in the twentieth century. The chapters that follow discuss perception, belief, the supposed explanatory gap between the physical and the mental, introspection, conation, causality, and functionalism.

Peter Anstey, Professor of Philosophy, The University of Sydney,David Braddon-Mitchell, Professor of Philosophy, The University of Sydney

Peter Anstey studied Philosophy at the University of Sydney. He specializes in Early Modern Philosophy with a special focus on Locke, Boyle, Bacon, and Experimental Philosophy. He was the inaugural Professor of Early Modern Philosophy at the University of Otago from 2006 to 2012, before returning to
Sydney University where he is currently Professor of Philosophy. He is literary executor to the late D. M. Armstrong.


Braddon-Mitchell did graduate work at the Australian National University, working on the Philosophy of Mind and Explanation. He has since worked at the University of Auckland before going to the University of Sydney in 2000 where he is currently Professor of Philosophy. He works in the Philosophy of
Mind, Metaphysics, and Explanation.

Introduction, Peter R. Anstey and David Braddon-Mitchell
1. A Materialist Theory of the Mind in Context, Peter R. Anstey and David Braddon-Mitchell
2. Lewis and the Identity Theory, D. M. Armstrong
3. The Two Davids and Australian Materialism, A. J. R. Fisher
4. Causation, Perception, and Dispositions: Towards A Materialist Theory of the Mind, Sharon Ford
5. Materialism, Then and Now, Peter Godfrey-Smith
6. Armstrong and Perception, David Rosenthal
7. Does A Materialist Theory of the Mind give us a Reply to the Knowledge Argument?, Frank Jackson
8. Closing (or at Least Narrowing) the Explanatory Gap, Katalin Farkas
9. Introspection and Distinctness: Armstrong and Shoemaker on Introspection, Ryan Cox
10. Armstrong's Just-so Story about Consciousness, Daniel Stoljar
11. Armstrong on Conation, William G. Lycan
12. Causal Conditionalism, David Braddon-Mitchell
13. A Materialist Reconception of the Mind, Amie L. Thomasson
14. Armstrong's Revenge, John Heil