Lost Souls: The Philosophic Origins of a Cultural Dilemma

Contents

Contents List of Illustrations xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction 1 Chapter One. Plato’s Divided Line 5 1. The Line 5 2. The Line’s Transmission 8 A. Plotinus, 8; B. Augustine and Proclus, 14 Chapter Two. Descartes’ Revisions of the Line 15 1. Platonic Themes 15 A. Knowledge versus Belief, 15; B. Mind–Body Dualism, 16 2. Four Alterations: Descartes Amends Plato’s Figure in These Critical Ways 16 A. Imaginings and Material Particulars Merged as Empirical Differences, 16; B. Forms Replaced by Geometricals, 17 C. The Cogito Substituted for the Good, 18; D. The Line Ensouled, 18 3. The Line Redrawn with Descartes’ Emendations 19 4. The Equivocal Status of God and Space: The Richer and Leaner Theories 19 5. Skepticism 22 6. Descartes’ Sources 23 Chapter Three. Consequences 27 1. Foundationalism 27 A. Epistemic and Ontological Foundationalism, 27; B. Mind’s Structure, 31 vii 2. Self-knowledge 33 3. A Priori Intelligibility 35 4. The Geometrical Character of the Physical 38 5. The Self-valorizing Ego 40 6. Descartes’ Legacy 41 A. Existence, 41; B. God, 42; C. Mind as Thinking Substance, 42; D. A Hierarchy of Mutually-Conditioning Orders, 43; E. Which is Prior: Ideas or Percepts? 45; F. Ideas Construed as Rules, 46; G. Meaning, 47; H. Truth, 48; I. Modalities, 49; J. Will, 50; K. Value, 52 Chapter Four. Descartes’ Heirs: Ontological Foundationalism and “The End of Western Metaphysics” 55 1. Kant 56 2. Kant in Our Time 61 A. Romantic Kantians: Nietzsche and Heidegger, 62; B. Analytic Kantians: Carnap and Quine, 68 3. What is Philosophy? 76 4. Response 78 Chapter Five. The Cogito’s Demise 81 1. Mind’s Reduction to Body 81 2. Diagnosis: A Philosophical Theory Empirically Refuted 83 A. What is the Hypothesis Refuted? 83; B. What Conceptual Features Make Dualism Suspect? 84; C. What Empirical Evidence Refutes Descartes’ Claim? 85; D. Is the Alleged Refutation a Methodological Error? 90 3. Consequences of the Refutation 92 Chapter Six. Churning 97 1. Disputed Questions 97 A. Mind’s Knowledge of Itself: Introspection, Behaviorism, or Inference? 99; B. Experience: Schematization and Inspection, or Interaction? 100; C. Ideas: Innate or Acquired? 102; D. Meaning, 103; E. Thought, 107; F. Truth: Identity, Coherence or Correspondence? 110; G. Knowledge: Intuition and Demonstration, or a Network of Hypotheses? 114; H. Does Mind Prescribe or Investigate the Features of Things? 118; I. Space and Time: Forms of Intuition or Spacetime? 122; J. Freestanding Mind, or an Array of Causally-related Bodies or Systems? 123; K. Freedom or Determinism? 124; L. Control or Accommodation? 125; M. Egoism or Sociality? 126; N. Human Significance, 133 2. An Altered Focus 134 viii CONTENTS Chapter Seven. Ideas to Reformulate and Save 145 1. Intelligibility: Are Thought and Language Autonomous? 145 2. Mind as Foundational: Culture 154 3. Self 158 4. The Good 163 Afterword 171 Notes 173 Index 199 CONTENTS ix ...