Oxford Scholarship Online- Concludes the book with reasons to accept the Constitution View1. It really is a materialistic view. It can accomplish almost everything that a dualist wants without the burden of dualism. It takes persons seriously in a specified sense: Being a person is relevant to the fundamental kind of individual that one is; elimination of any person would be elimination of an individual; having mental states is relevant to what a person is. No other materialist view takes persons seriously in all three of these respects.
- The Constitution View2 explains how it is that, although we are set apart by our first-person perspectives, we are still animals. Hence, the Constitution View3 locates human persons in the material world. The general idea of constitution (without identity) allows for a metaphysics that is both materialistic and nonreductive. This general conception of constitution supports an ontological pluralism that honors the genuine variety of kinds of individuals in the world.
Contents- Yes, Materialism
- Dualism and its Desiderata
- Taking Persons Seriously4
- Materialistic Competitors
- Conclusion
Write-up5 (as at 12/10/2018 10:10:34): Baker - In Favour Of the Constitution View
This note controls my detailed review of "Baker (Lynne Rudder) - In Favour Of the Constitution View", Chapter 9 of "Baker (Lynne Rudder) - Persons and Bodies: A Constitution View". I’ve pirated the Oxford Scholarship Online summary as a temporary expedient.
Oxford Scholarship Online- Concludes the book with reasons to accept the Constitution View. It really is a materialistic view. It can accomplish almost everything that a dualist wants without the burden of dualism. It takes persons seriously in a specified sense: Being a person is relevant to the fundamental kind of individual that one is; elimination of any person would be elimination of an individual; having mental states is relevant to what a person is. No other materialist view takes persons seriously in all three of these respects.
- The Constitution View explains how it is that, although we are set apart by our first-person perspectives, we are still animals. Hence, the Constitution View locates human persons in the material world. The general idea of constitution (without identity) allows for a metaphysics that is both materialistic and nonreductive. This general conception of constitution supports an ontological pluralism that honors the genuine variety of kinds of individuals in the world.
Contents- Yes, Materialism
- Dualism and its Desiderata
- Taking Persons Seriously6
- Materialistic Competitors
- Conclusion
… Further details to be supplied7
In-Page Footnotes
Footnote 5: - This is the write-up as it was when this Abstract was last output, with text as at the timestamp indicated (12/10/2018 10:10:34).
- Link to Latest Write-Up Note.
Text Colour Conventions (see disclaimer)
- Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2018
- Mauve: Text by correspondent(s) or other author(s); © the author(s)