Consciousness from Aristotle to Putnam & Sartre

233 Pages·2016·0.86 MB·English

by  Catalano Joseph

T H I N K I N G
M A T T E R
C o n s c i o u s n e s s f r o m
A r i s t o t l e t o
P u t n a m a n d S a r t r e
Joseph S. Catalano
R o u t l e d g e • N e w Yo r k a n d L o n d o n
Published in 2000 by
Routledge
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New York, NY 10001
Published in Great Britain by
Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane
London EC4P 4EE
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002.
Copyright © 2000 by Routledge
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage retrieval system, with-
out permission in writing from the publishers.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
ISBN 0-203-90340-4 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-90344-7 (Glassbook Format)
I n M e m o r y o f S t e l l a r i o
a n d E v e l y n M a r c h e s e

C o n t e n t s
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction: The Perspective 1
PART ONE THE BODY AND THE WORLD
1. Matter and Pure Enquiry 17
2. Moving Matter, Thinking Thoughts 39
3. Knowledge as Worldmaking 69
4. Matters and Modalities 95
PART TWO ON THINGS AND NAMES
5. Names and Things 115
6. The Transcendence of Mind 129
7. The Written Word 145
Conclusion: The Anthropocentric Universe 165
V
APPENDICES
Appendix I. The Snub and the Population Question 175
Appendix II. On Names 189
Notes 197
Selected Bibliography 217
Index 223
A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s
William L.McBride graciously read and commented upon every version
ofthis manuscript,and,in a very special way,I wish to acknowledge my
gratitude.A few ofhis observations resulted in my moving some ofthe
material into the two appendixes ofthis final version.The usual caveat is,
I suppose,nevertheless,appropriate:I alone am responsible for both the
format and the content ofthis book.Gayatri Patnaik ofRoutledge greatly
eased the difficult task ofcreating a book out ofa manuscript.I wish to
thank her for her gracious efficiency.
VII

I n t r o d u c t i o n
T h e P e r s p e c t i v e
Thinking about trees and stars,many philosophers today consider both the
thought and the tree as material and yet as separate.That is,even though
these philosophers are materialists,they are also realists:they do not iden-
tify the consciousness ofa tree with the tree but give each its separate exis-
tence. I begin by noting my general agreement with this realist and
materialist perspective.
At this point, someone who is not a materialist might want to stop
reading.I may be able to keep the dialogue going by denying my material-
ism,even as I affirm it.The ambiguity arises from the present-day notion
of matter.If I claim allegiance with materialism,it might seem that I am
accepting the general contemporary tendency to view matter and con-
sciousness scientifically and quantitatively,and I do not do so.Also,I do
not concentrate on the brain alone as the organ of thought.Rather,I take
the view that the whole body thinks, and I take the body in its fleshy,
organic nature.
Further,in opposition to most materialist conceptions of the world,I
consider that our body gives us a unique bond to the world:the world is
1