Within the past ten years, the discussion of the nature of folk psychology and its role in explaining behavior and thought has become central to the philosophy of mind. However, no comprehensive account of the contemporary debate or collection of the works that make up this debate has yet been available. Intending to fill this gap, this volume begins with the crucial background for the contemporary debate and proceeds with a broad range of responses to and developments of these works -- from those who argue that "folk theory" is a misnomer to those who regard folk theory as legitimately explanatory and necessary for any adequate account of human behavior.
Intended for courses in the philosophy of mind, psychology, and science, as well as anthropology and social psychology, this anthology is also of great value in courses focusing on folk models, eliminative materialism, explanation, psychological theory, and -- in particular -- intentional psychology. It is accessible to both graduate students and upper-division undergraduate students of philosophy and psychology as well as researchers. As an aid to students, a thorough discussion of the field and the articles in the anthology is provided in the introduction; as an aid to researchers, a complete bibliography is also provided.
"...provides a lavish, if not exhaustive, sampling of suggested relationships and current scholarly debates....of special interest to persons interested in the philosophy of science."
—Science Books & Films
"...an excellent and overdue anthology, most appropriate for advanced courses in the philosophy of mind and philosophy of psychology....the anthology is suited for a course on folk psychology. For such a course, Folk Psychology and the Philosophy of Mind has no equal."
—Teaching Philosophy
"A splendid collection of seminal papers on the status, nature and revisability of folk psychology."
—Patricia S. Churchland
University of California, San Diego
"The anthology we have needed, to state the case for and against eliminativism in psychological theory. Turner and Christensen have assembled all the usual suspects, in the right order, with their best case arguments...a perfect introduction to the philosophy of psychology."
—Alex Rosenberg
University of California, Riverside
