Descartes and the Doubting Mind

Descartes' characterisation of the mind as a 'thinking thing' marks the beginning of modern philosophy of mind. It is also the point of departure for Descartes' own system in which the mind is the first object of knowledge for those who reason 'in an orderly way'. This ground-breaking book shows that the Cartesian mind has been widely misunderstood. Typically it has been treated as simply the subject of phenomenal consciousness, ignoring its deeply intellectual character. James Hill argues that we are inclined to misinterpret Descartes' method of doubt as all-inclusive and universal. In fact, the sceptical arguments of the First Meditation aim to lead the mind away from the senses and towards the intellectual 'notions' that the mind has within it, and which are never the subject of doubt. Hill also places Descartes' concept of mind into the wider setting of his science of nature, showing that he was concerned to reveal a mental subject that would find this new science intelligible.

Acknowledgements \ Biographical Note \ 1. Introduction \ 2. Who is Descartes' Meditator? \ 3. Empiricism and Natural Philosophy \ 4. The Method of Doubt \ 5. Res Cogitans \ 6. The Active Self \ 7. Sense, Sensation and Animal Minds \ 8. Conscienta and Consciousness \ Notes \ Bibliography \ Index