Actions and Objects from Hobbes to Richardson

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British, Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Mind & Body
Cover of the book Actions and Objects from Hobbes to Richardson by Jonathan Kramnick, Stanford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Jonathan Kramnick ISBN: 9780804775120
Publisher: Stanford University Press Publication: August 30, 2010
Imprint: Stanford University Press Language: English
Author: Jonathan Kramnick
ISBN: 9780804775120
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Publication: August 30, 2010
Imprint: Stanford University Press
Language: English

How do minds cause events in the world? How does wanting to write a letter cause a person's hands to move across the page, or believing something to be true cause a person to make a promise? In Actions and Objects, Jonathan Kramnick examines the literature and philosophy of action during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, when philosophers and novelists, poets and scientists were all concerned with the place of the mind in the world. These writers asked whether belief, desire, and emotion were part of nature—and thus subject to laws of cause and effect—or in a special place outside the natural order. Kramnick puts particular emphasis on those who tried to make actions compatible with external determination and to blur the boundary between mind and matter. He follows a long tradition of examining the close relation between literary and philosophical writing during the period, but fundamentally revises the terrain. Rather than emphasizing psychological depth and interiority or asking how literary works were understood as true or fictional, he situates literature alongside philosophy as jointly interested in discovering how minds work.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

How do minds cause events in the world? How does wanting to write a letter cause a person's hands to move across the page, or believing something to be true cause a person to make a promise? In Actions and Objects, Jonathan Kramnick examines the literature and philosophy of action during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, when philosophers and novelists, poets and scientists were all concerned with the place of the mind in the world. These writers asked whether belief, desire, and emotion were part of nature—and thus subject to laws of cause and effect—or in a special place outside the natural order. Kramnick puts particular emphasis on those who tried to make actions compatible with external determination and to blur the boundary between mind and matter. He follows a long tradition of examining the close relation between literary and philosophical writing during the period, but fundamentally revises the terrain. Rather than emphasizing psychological depth and interiority or asking how literary works were understood as true or fictional, he situates literature alongside philosophy as jointly interested in discovering how minds work.

More books from Stanford University Press

Cover of the book The High Cost of Good Intentions by Jonathan Kramnick
Cover of the book Hard Target by Jonathan Kramnick
Cover of the book Microeconomic Theory Old and New by Jonathan Kramnick
Cover of the book Reconfiguring Families in Contemporary Vietnam by Jonathan Kramnick
Cover of the book Crook County by Jonathan Kramnick
Cover of the book Outlaw Justice by Jonathan Kramnick
Cover of the book Reputation-Based Governance by Jonathan Kramnick
Cover of the book Partners of the Empire by Jonathan Kramnick
Cover of the book The Ottoman Scramble for Africa by Jonathan Kramnick
Cover of the book Theaters of Justice by Jonathan Kramnick
Cover of the book Between Movement and Establishment by Jonathan Kramnick
Cover of the book Explanation and Progress in Security Studies by Jonathan Kramnick
Cover of the book Arms and Influence by Jonathan Kramnick
Cover of the book Scripting Revolution by Jonathan Kramnick
Cover of the book Common Knowledge? by Jonathan Kramnick
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy