… On the whole the theory proposed here is well articulated, ambitious but at the same time well circumscribed. One of the great merits of this book is that it brings together all these discussions in a systematic way, dissipates many obscurities and ambiguities, provides a comprehensive framework to understand them, and draws their consequences for many issues in the philosophy of mind. It has been also implicit in many discussions about the nature of “partial” beliefs vs ”full” belief in the Bayesian tradition. The main theme of the book, that we need a layered conception of the mind, composed mainly of two systems – mind and supermind – has been in the air for some time, especially with philosophers like Keith Lehrer, Jonathan Cohen and Michael Bratman and the discussions about belief vs acceptance. On all these issues, Keith Frankish brings a new and very interesting perspective. It focuses on some of the most crucial problems in this field: the adequacy of our ordinary notion of belief and of folk psychology for a scientific conception of the mind, the relationship of thought to language, the nature of consciousness, and especially the problem of what might be called the unity of the mind (is the mind a modular system partitioned into several sub-structures, or is it in some sense a seamless unity?). “ Mind and Supermind is an excellent piece of work, which makes an important contribution to the philosophy of mind and psychology. Peter Carruthers, Professor and Chair, Department of Philosophy, University of Maryland Anyone with a serious interest in philosophy of mind should read it.” It is easily the most sophisticated and plausible defense of a two-level account of the human mind in the literature. It is written with immense clarity and rigor, and digs deep. “Frankish’s book is an outstanding original contribution to the philosophy of mind.
Andy Clark, Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Cognitive Science program, Indiana University Recommended reading for anyone interested in the philosophy and science of mind and belief.” In this well-paced and readable treatment, Frankish offers a clear, constructive and original angle on some of the most persistent and perplexing problems in the field. Failure to make this distinction leads to confusion and cross talk. Folk psychology, according to Frankish, has two distinct theoretical cores. Frankish explores, with care and imagination, the subtle ways in which science and our ‘folk’ image converge and diverge.
“This is an important contribution to our understanding of mind and of the nature of belief. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy, University Professor, and Co-Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies, Tufts University I hope your book is widely read, cited, and understood!”
Your figure 1 is a very compelling synopsis. I’ve read only parts so far, but I am in general delighted to see what you have done with the two strands. This book will be valuable for philosophers, psychologists, and cognitive scientists.Ĭlick this link for a more detailed overview of the book. Topics discussed include the function of conscious thought, the cognitive role of natural language, the relation between partial and flat-out belief, the possibility of active belief formation, and the nature of akrasia, self-deception, and first-person authority. Building on this claim, he develops a picture of the human mind as a two-level structure, consisting of a basic mind and a supermind, and shows how the resulting account sheds light on a number of puzzling phenomena and helps to vindicate folk psychology. Keith Frankish argues that the folk-psychological term ‘belief’ refers to two distinct types of mental state, which have different properties and support different kinds of mental explanation. Mind and Supermind offers a new perspective on the nature of belief and the structure of the human mind.
Publication date: HB 16 September 2004, PB July 2007 Format: Hardback, paperback, Adobe eBook Reader, 270 pages, 2 b/w illus, 2 tables
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