The Concept of Mind

Introduction

Ryle’s book appeared in 1949 and was conceived, as he wrote, to rectify the “logical geography” of the concepts with which we describe mental life. Its first chapter, “Descartes’ Myth”, attacks the official doctrine of the mind as a private inner theatre; the later chapters examine the will, emotions, self-knowledge, sensation, imagination and the intellect in turn, arguing that mental terms describe abilities, tendencies and ways of acting. Ryle expected the charge of behaviourism and partly accepted it. The book’s clear prose and its many everyday examples made it a model of Oxford ordinary language philosophy and a much-taught text in the philosophy of mind.

Connections

Criticizes

• Meditations on First Philosophy1641 · René Descartes

Taken up in

• The Intentional Stance1987 · Daniel Dennett

Answered in

• Is Consciousness a Brain Process?1956 · U. T. Place

Criticized in

• Sensations and Brain Processes1959 · J. J. C. Smart
• Actions, Reasons, and Causes1963 · Donald Davidson

Appears in

• Journey ‘Doubt and the Self’ · Stop 9 of 10
• Journey ‘The Riddle of Consciousness’ · Stop 4 of 10