Investigating Psychology: Sciences of the Mind After Wittgenstein / Edition 1

by John Hyman

Overview

Originally published in 1991, the essays in this volume are written by philosophers who were convinced that Wittgenstein’s investigations in philosophical psychology were of direct relevance to current experimental psychology at the time.

Rather than reflecting on the nature of psychological theory at a high level of abstraction, they examined leading theories and controversies in the experimental study of vision and of language in order to reveal the conceptual problems that they raise and the philosophical theories that have exerted an influence upon them.

Under the section headings ‘Language and Behaviour’ and ‘Perception and Representation’, the essays examine the work of Chomsky, Gregory, Marr, Weiskrantz and others, and discuss problems ranging from artificial intelligence to animal communications, from blindsight to machine vision.

The collection aims to demonstrate that philosophical investigations can contribute to psychological science by extirpating conceptual confusions which have been woven into the fabric of empirical research. The majority of the essays had been specially commissioned, and the contributors include several of the most distinguished exponents of Wittgenstein’s philosophical legacy at the time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781138206816
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/26/2018
Series:	Psychology Revivals
Pages:	218
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

Notes on the Contributors. Acknowledgements. Introduction John Hyman. Part 1: Language and Behaviour 1. The Relation of Language to Instinctive Behaviour Norman Malcolm 2. Mechanism and Meaning Bruce Goldberg 3. The Enduring Relevance of Wittgenstein’s Remarks on Intentions Stuart Shanker 4. Conversations with Apes: Reflections on the Scientific Study of Language John Dupré Part 2: Perception and Representation 5. Seeing, Representing and Describing: An Examination of David Marr’s Computational Theory of Vision Peter Hacker 6. The Homunculus Fallacy Anthony Kenny 7. Visual Experience and Blindsight John Hyman. Index