Colin McGinn

El asco está considerado como una emoción peculiarmente humana. ¿Pero en qué consiste el que algo sea asqueroso? ¿Qué es lo que agrupa a ciertas cosas en tanto que desencadenantes de una emoción de asco? Colin McGinn pretende analizar lo que hay en el fondo del asco, argumentando que la vida y la muerte estan implicitas en su significado. El asco es un tipo de emocion filosofica que refleja la actitud humana hacia el mundo biologico. Incluso aunque sea una emocion que nos esforzamos por reprimir. Inicialmente surge, con toda probabilidad, como un metodo para refrenar el insaciable deseo humano, que, a su vez, es el resultado de nuestra poderosa imaginacion. Al sentir asco hacia nosotros mismos como especie, nos situamos ante un tenso dilema emocional: nos admiramos por nuestros logros, pero tambien experimentamos un sentimiento de repulsion hacia nuestra necesaria naturaleza organica. Somos presa de una division en nuestros afectos. La muerte implica asco en forma de cadaveres putrefactos, y nuestras complejas actitudes hacia la muerte alimentan nuestros sentimientos de asco. Somos seres que, a diferencia de los animales y los dioses, tenemos "consciencia del asco". Ademas, no podemos quitarnos de encima nuestra ambivalente naturaleza. El existencialismo y el psicoanalisis buscaron una teoria general de las emociones humanas; este libro intenta reemplazarla por una teoria en la que nuestro primordial modo de sentir se centra en el asco. "El significado del asco" es un estudio original de un tema fascinante, aunque olvidado, que trata de contar una inquietante verdad sobre la condicion humana.

El asco está considerado como una emoción peculiarmente humana. ¿Pero en qué consiste el que algo sea asqueroso? ¿Qué es lo que agrupa a ciertas cosas en tanto que desencadenantes de una emoción de asco? Colin McGinn pretende analizar lo que hay en el fondo del asco, argumentando que la vida y la muerte estan implicitas en su significado. El asco es un tipo de emocion filosofica que refleja la actitud humana hacia el mundo biologico. Incluso aunque sea una emocion que nos esforzamos por reprimir. Inicialmente surge, con toda probabilidad, como un metodo para refrenar el insaciable deseo humano, que, a su vez, es el resultado de nuestra poderosa imaginacion. Al sentir asco hacia nosotros mismos como especie, nos situamos ante un tenso dilema emocional: nos admiramos por nuestros logros, pero tambien experimentamos un sentimiento de repulsion hacia nuestra necesaria naturaleza organica. Somos presa de una division en nuestros afectos.

An argument that nativism is true and important but mysterious, examining the particular case of ideas of sensible qualities.In this book, Colin McGinn presents a concise, clear, and compelling argument that the origins of knowledge are innatethat nativism, not empiricism, is correct in its theory of how concepts are acquired. McGinn considers the particular case of sensible qualitiesideas of color, shape, taste, and so on. He argues that these, which he once regarded as the strongest case for the empiricist position, are in fact not well explained by the empiricist account that they derive from interactions with external objects. Rather, he contends, ideas of sensible qualities offer the strongest case for the nativist positionthat a large range of our knowledge is inborn, not acquired through the senses. Yet, McGinn cautions, how this can be is deeply problematic; we have no good theories about how innate knowledge is possible. Innate knowledge is a mystery, though a fact.McGinn describes the traditional debate between empiricism and nativism; offers an array of arguments against empiricism; constructs an argument in favor of nativism; and considers the philosophical consequences of adopting the nativist position, discussing perception, the mindbody problem, the unconscious, metaphysics, and epistemology.

How is watching a movie similar to dreaming? What goes on in our minds when we become absorbed in a movie? How does looking into a movie screen allow us to experience the thoughts and feelings of a movies characters? These and related questions are at the heart of The Power of Movies, a thoughtful, invigorating, and remarkably accessible book about a phenomenon seemingly beyond reach of our understanding. Colin McGinnan ingenious philosopher who thinks like a laser and writes like a dream, according to Steven Pinkerenhances our understanding of both movies and ourselves in this book of rare and refreshing insight.

An introduction to philosophy of language through systematic and accessible explanations of ten classic texts by such thinkers as Frege, Kripke, Russell, and Putnam.Many beginning students in philosophy of language find themselves grappling with dense and difficult texts not easily understood by someone new to the field. This book offers an introduction to philosophy of language by explaining ten classic, often anthologized, texts. Accessible and thorough, written with a unique combination of informality and careful formulation, the book addresses sense and reference, proper names, definite descriptions, indexicals, the definition of truth, truth and meaning, and the nature of speaker meaning, as addressed by Frege, Kripke, Russell, Donnellan, Kaplan, Evans, Putnam, Tarski, Davidson, and Grice. The explanations aim to be as simple as possible without sacrificing accuracy; critical assessments are included with the exposition in order to stimulate further thought and discussion.Philosophy of Language will be an essential resource for undergraduates in a typical philosophy of language course or for graduate students with no background in the field. It can be used in conjunction with an anthology of classic texts, sparing the instructor much arduous exegesis.ContentsFrege on Sense and Reference Kripke on Names Russell on Definite Descriptions Donnellans Distinction Kaplan on Demonstratives Evans on Understanding Demonstratives Putnam on Semantic Externalism Tarskis Theory of Truth Davidsons Semantics for Natural Language Grices Theory of Speaker Meaning

Pithy, direct, and bold: essays that propose new ways to think about old problems, spanning a range of philosophical topics.In Philosophical Provocations, Colin McGinn offers a series of short, sharp essays that take on philosophical problems ranging from the concept of mind to paradox, altruism, and the relation between God and the Devil. Avoiding the usual scholarly apparatus and embracing a blunt pithiness, McGinn aims to achieve as much as possible in as short a space as possible while covering as many topics as possible. Much academic philosophical writing today is long, leaden, citation heavy, dense with qualifications, and painful to read. The essays in Philosophical Provocations are short, direct, and engaging, often challenging philosophical orthodoxy as they consider issues in mind, language, knowledge, metaphysics, biology, ethics, and religion.McGinn is looking for new ways to think about old problems. Thus he writes, about consciousness, I think we have been all wrong, and goes on to suggest that both consciousness and the unconscious are mysteries. Summing up his proposal on altruism, he remarks, My suggestion can now be stated, somewhat brutally, as follows: human altruism is the result of parasitic manipulation. He takes a moment to reflect: I really dont know why it is good to be alive, though I am convinced that the standard suggestions dont work. McGinn gets straight to the point and states his position with maximum clarity. These essays offer provocative invitations to think again.

In praise of the hand: A philosopher considers the crucial role of the hand in human evolution, particularly with respect to language. McGinn is an ingenious philosopher who thinks like a laser and writes like a dream.Steven PinkerThis book is a hymn to the hand. In Prehension, Colin McGinn links questions from science to philosophical concerns to consider something that we take for granted: the importance of the hand in everything we do. Drawing on evolutionary biology, anatomy, archaeology, linguistics, psychology, and philosophy, among other disciplines, McGinn examines the role of the hand in shaping human evolution. He finds that the development of our capacity to grasp, to grip, to take hold (also known as prehension) is crucial in the emergence of Homo sapiens.The human species possesses language, rational thought, culture, and a specific affective capacity; but there was a time when our ancestors had none of these. How did we become what we so distinctively are, given our early origins? McGinn, following Darwin and others, calls the hand the source of our biological success. When our remote ancestors descended from trees, they adopted a bipedal gait that left the hands free for other work; they began to make tools, which led to social cooperation and increased brain capacity. But McGinn goes further than others in arguing for the importance of the hand; he speculates that the hand played a major role in the development of language, and presents a theory of primitive reference as an outgrowth of prehension. McGinn sings the praises of the hand, and evolution, in a philosophical key. He mixes biology, anthropology, analytical philosophy, existential philosophy, sheer speculation, and utter amazement to celebrate humans achievement of humanity.