Modern Mind

Gary Hatfield is widely recognized as a leading historian of modern philosophy, especially for his work on Descartes and Kant, as well as a leading philosopher of psychology. This volume features chapters written by Hatfield’s colleagues, mentees, and students that reflect on his influential work.

The chapters are grouped in three areas: history of early modern philosophy, history of late modern philosophy, and contemporary philosophy of psychology. The historical chapters cover major authors such as Descartes, Hume, and Kant, as well as lesser-known figures such as Louis de la Forge, Robert Boyle, and Hermann von Helmholtz. Thematically, the chapters revolve around the philosophy and science of perception and cognition, dealing with topics such as representational realism, the nature of visual space, the mind-body problem, the relation of concepts to sensations, the character of perceptual experience, and methodology in the sciences of the mind. Finally, the volume concludes with Hatfield’s own remarks on the chapters, along with an autobiographical reflection on his intellectual journey. Taken together, the chapters exemplify a distinctive theme in Hatfield’s body of work: that philosophical inquiry is most fruitful when historical and systematic perspectives on a question complement each other.

Modern Mind will appeal to scholars and graduate students working in the history of modern philosophy and philosophy of the mind sciences.