Dispositional Properties

In Dispositional Properties, David Weissman Attacks A Problem Central To The Philosophy Of Mind And, By Implication, To The Theory Of Being: Are There Potentialities, Capabilities, Which Dispose The Mind To Think In One Way Rather Than Another? The Volume Is Arranged In The Form Of Four Arguments That Converge Upon A Single Point. First, There Is An Intricate Discussion Of The Shortcomings Of Hume's Account Of Mind As Ideas And Impressions. Next Comes A Brief Treatment Of The Arguments Of Some Of Weissman's Contemporaries, Including Carnap And Braithwaite. Third, Weissman Discusses Wittgenstein's Theories Of Learning And Knowledge. Finally, There Is A Full Discussion Of Aristotle And His Doctrine Of Potentialities. The Question This Book Ultimately Raises Is How To Steer Between A Doctrine Of Mind As No More Than A Series Of Acts, On The One Hand, And A Doctrine Of Mind As A Kind Of Unitary Object, On The Other. The Solution Is To Show First Of All That There Must Be A Potentiality In The Universe, And Then To Show Clearly And In Detail That The Mind Is Shot Through With That Potentiality.