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The Intellectual Powers: A Study of Human Nature
The Intellectual Powers is a philosophical investigation into the cognitive and cogitative powers of mankind. It develops a connective analysis of our powers of consciousness, intentionality, mastery of language, knowledge, belief, certainty, sensation, perception, memory, thought, and imagination, by one of Britain’s leading philosophers. It is an essential guide and handbook for philosophers, psychologists, and cognitive neuroscientists.
The culmination of 45 years of reflection on the philosophy of mind, epistemology, and the nature of the human person.
No other book in epistemology or philosophy of psychology provides such extensive overviews of consciousness, self-consciousness, intentionality, mastery of a language, knowledge, belief, memory, sensation and perception, thought and imagination.
Illustrated with tables, tree-diagrams, and charts to provide overviews of the conceptual relationships disclosed by analysis.
Written by one of Britain’s best philosophical minds.
A sequel to Hacker’s Human Nature: The Categorial Framework.
An essential guide and handbook for all who are working in philosophy of mind, epistemology, psychology, cognitive science, and cognitive neuroscience.
The culmination of 45 years of reflection on the philosophy of mind, epistemology, and the nature of the human person.
No other book in epistemology or philosophy of psychology provides such extensive overviews of consciousness, self-consciousness, intentionality, mastery of a language, knowledge, belief, memory, sensation and perception, thought and imagination.
Illustrated with tables, tree-diagrams, and charts to provide overviews of the conceptual relationships disclosed by analysis.
Written by one of Britain’s best philosophical minds.
A sequel to Hacker’s Human Nature: The Categorial Framework.
An essential guide and handbook for all who are working in philosophy of mind, epistemology, psychology, cognitive science, and cognitive neuroscience.
- GenresPhilosophy
497 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
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54 people want to read
About the author
P.M.S. Hacker
50 books20 followersPeter Hacker was born in London in 1939. He read Philosophy, Politics and Economics at The Queen's College, Oxford from 1960-63, obtaining a Congratulatory First Class degree. He was elected to a graduate studentship at St Antony's College, Oxford, where he remained from 1963-65, writing a doctoral dissertation under the supervision of H.L.A. Hart on the subject of 'Rules and Duties'. In 1965 he was elected to a Junior Research Fellowship at Balliol College. In 1966 he completed his doctorate and was granted the D. Phil.
He became a Tutorial Fellow at St John's College in 1966, a post he held until his retirement in 2006, when he was appointed to an Emeritus Research Fellowship at St John's. He was College Librarian 1986-2006, and Keeper of the College Pictures 1986-1998. In 2010 he was elected to an Honorary Fellowship at The Queen's College, Oxford.
He was a visiting lecturer at Makere College, Uganda (1968), a visiting professor at Swarthmore College, Pa., U.S.A (1973), a visiting professor at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, U.S.A. (1974), a Milton C. Scott Visiting Professor, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario (1984). He was elected to a British Academy Research Readership in Humanities 1985-7. In 1986 he was again a visiting professor for a semester at Swarthmore College, Pa., U.S.A. He was elected to a Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowship (1991-4). From 1992 to 2010 he served as a member of the Rothschild Fellowships Academic Committee, Yad Hanadiv, Jerusalem. He was a visiting fellow at the Rockefeller Foundation at Bellagio, Italy in 2006. He was a visiting research fellow at the University of Bologna for a semester in 2009. In 2013 he was appointed Professor of philosophy at the University of Kent at Canterbury for three years.
He is an associate editor of Philosophical Investigations, and of Wittgenstein Studies. From 1997 to 2003 he was an associate editor, 20th century philosophers - Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. From 1998 to 2003 he was a Trustee of the Wittgenstein papers and Member of the Committee of Editors; since 2003 he has been a member and Secretary of the Advisory Committee of Wittgenstein Editors.
He became a Tutorial Fellow at St John's College in 1966, a post he held until his retirement in 2006, when he was appointed to an Emeritus Research Fellowship at St John's. He was College Librarian 1986-2006, and Keeper of the College Pictures 1986-1998. In 2010 he was elected to an Honorary Fellowship at The Queen's College, Oxford.
He was a visiting lecturer at Makere College, Uganda (1968), a visiting professor at Swarthmore College, Pa., U.S.A (1973), a visiting professor at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, U.S.A. (1974), a Milton C. Scott Visiting Professor, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario (1984). He was elected to a British Academy Research Readership in Humanities 1985-7. In 1986 he was again a visiting professor for a semester at Swarthmore College, Pa., U.S.A. He was elected to a Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowship (1991-4). From 1992 to 2010 he served as a member of the Rothschild Fellowships Academic Committee, Yad Hanadiv, Jerusalem. He was a visiting fellow at the Rockefeller Foundation at Bellagio, Italy in 2006. He was a visiting research fellow at the University of Bologna for a semester in 2009. In 2013 he was appointed Professor of philosophy at the University of Kent at Canterbury for three years.
He is an associate editor of Philosophical Investigations, and of Wittgenstein Studies. From 1997 to 2003 he was an associate editor, 20th century philosophers - Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. From 1998 to 2003 he was a Trustee of the Wittgenstein papers and Member of the Committee of Editors; since 2003 he has been a member and Secretary of the Advisory Committee of Wittgenstein Editors.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 15, 2021
Anyone who thinks there is a "hard problem" of consciousness, or who thinks we have to choose between reductive materialism or dualism, or who doesn't know off-hand why both of those options are nonsense (not "garbage"; "nonsense" as in non-meaningful or failing to make any sense) needs to read this book immediately.
Anyone with an interest in philosophy of mind at all (consciousness, knowledge, memory, etc.) needs to start here. Technically, the most rigorous introduction is "Human Nature: The Categorial Framework", and then this one zeros in on the mind. But, "The Categorial Framework" is *really* technical and methodical. This book is a much lighter and more enjoyable starting point.
I have been reading on this topic since I was 13 and read "Consciousness Explained", by Dan Dennett. I have gone all over the place in the decades since then. Peter Hacker's combination of Wittgensteinean nonsense-clearing and conceptual-knot-untying with Aristotelian attention to characteristic "powers" of things brings a definitive end to the so-called "mysteries" of consciousness and gives the only proper footing for science and philosophy to proceed from on this topic.
I cannot recommend this highly enough.
Anyone with an interest in philosophy of mind at all (consciousness, knowledge, memory, etc.) needs to start here. Technically, the most rigorous introduction is "Human Nature: The Categorial Framework", and then this one zeros in on the mind. But, "The Categorial Framework" is *really* technical and methodical. This book is a much lighter and more enjoyable starting point.
I have been reading on this topic since I was 13 and read "Consciousness Explained", by Dan Dennett. I have gone all over the place in the decades since then. Peter Hacker's combination of Wittgensteinean nonsense-clearing and conceptual-knot-untying with Aristotelian attention to characteristic "powers" of things brings a definitive end to the so-called "mysteries" of consciousness and gives the only proper footing for science and philosophy to proceed from on this topic.
I cannot recommend this highly enough.
September 9, 2020
Any serious philosophy student should read this.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews