Colin Mcginn

Biographic Data

ID996544
NAMEColin Mcginn
GIVEN NAMESColin
FAMILY NAMEMcginn
SIGNATUREMCGINN C
AFFILIATIONSUniversity College London
VERIFIEDNo
TOTAL WORKS59
TOTAL CITATIONS16
AUTHOR COUNT59
EDITOR COUNT0
FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR1972
LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR2017
H-INDEX2

  • Philosophical Provocations

    Open AccessColin McginnBOOKPhilosophical Provocations2017

  • Philosophical Provocations

    Colin McginnBOOKPhilosophical Provocations2017

    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 …

  • Inborn Knowledge

    Colin McginnBOOKInborn Knowledge2016

    "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 a…

  • Inborn Knowledge

    Colin McginnBOOKInborn Knowledge2016

  • The Science of Philosophy

    Open AccessColin McginnARTICLEMetaphilosophy2015

    If philosophy consists of conceptual analysis, is it thereby debarred from being a science? This article argues that it is not and that philosophy so conceived is a science. The argument takes the form of careful attention to the meaning of “science,” “experiment,” “empirical,” and related words. Philosophy is a formal science. This does not mean it is not part of the humanities. The role of observation in other kinds of science is investigated. …

  • Prehension

    Colin McginnBOOKPrehension2015

    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 Pinker This 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. Dr…

  • Basic Structures of RealityEssays in Meta-Physics

    Colin McginnBOOKBasic structures of reality2012

    In 'Basic Structures of Reality', Colin McGinn deals with questions of metaphysics, epistemology, and philosophy of mind from the vantage point of physics.

  • What Is a Physical Object?

    Colin McginnCHAPTERBasic structures of reality2012

    This chapter analyzes the nature of matter. Physics is about what parts things have, and goes right down to the things that have no further parts, but it does not concern itself with what it is that ultimately composes these things—that is simply left open. According to Eddington and Russell, physics is incomplete precisely on the question of what matter ultimately and intrinsically is. Into this descriptive void they inserted a bold theory—that …

  • Principia Metaphysica

    Colin McginnCHAPTERBasic structures of reality2012

  • Basic structures of reality

    Colin McginnBOOKBasic structures of reality2011

  • Truth by AnalysisGames, Names, and Philosophy

    Colin McginnBOOKTruth by analysis2011

    In this study of the nature of philosophy, Colin McGinn shows us how philosophy can maintain its connection to the past while looking forward to a bright future.

  • Sport

    Open AccessColin McginnBOOKSport2008

    Whether it s conkers in the schoolyard, kicking a football in the park, or playing tennis on Wimbledon Centre Court, sport impacts all of our lives. But what is sport and why do we do it? Colin McGinn, renowned philosopher (and kiteboarder), reflects on our love of sport and explores the value it has for us and the part it plays in a life lived well. Written in the form of a memoir, McGinn discusses many of the sports he has engaged in from pole-…

  • On Consciousness

    Colin McginnARTICLEThe Philosophical Review2007Cited by: 1

    Book Review| July 01 2007 On Consciousness Ted Honderich, On Consciousness. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2004. vii + 230 pp. Colin McGinn Colin McGinn Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google The Philosophical Review (2007) 116 (3): 474–477. https://doi.org/10.1215/00318108-2007-009 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Colin McGinn; On Consciousness. …

  • Shakespeare's Philosophy

    Colin McginnBOOKShakespeare's Philosophy2007

  • Mindsight

    Open AccessColin McginnBOOKMindsight2006

  • Consciousness and Space

    Colin McginnCHAPTERConsciousness and its objects2004

    The subject of this chapter is the relation of consciousness to space, and it is suggested that reductionism about consciousness needs must involve a new conception of space. Experiences are non-spatial and as such are even in principle unperceivable; they are thus quite unlike the posits of physics, unobservables postulated as the best explanation of data. The problem of how something non-spatial could arise out of a universe composed merely of …

  • Mindsight

    Colin McginnBOOKMindsight2004

    The guiding thread of this book is the distinction Colin McGinn draws between perception and imagination. Clearly, seeing an object is similar in certain respects to forming a mental image of it, but it is also different. McGinn shows what the differences are, arguing that imagination is a sui generis mental faculty. He goes on to discuss the nature of dreaming and madness, contending that these are primarily imaginative phenomena. In the second …

  • Knowledge and Reality

    Colin McginnBOOKKnowledge and Reality2002

    Knowledge and Reality brings together a selection of Colin McGinn's philosophical essays from the mid 1970s to the late 1990s, whose unifying theme is the relation between mind and reality. The essays are divided into three groups (‘Knowledge and Necessity’, ‘Thought and World’, and ‘Reality and Appearance’) and range over several topics of recent interest, including the analysis of knowledge, the a priori, necessity, possible worlds, externalism…

  • Consciousness and its Objects

    Colin McginnCHAPTERModern Biology and Natural Theology2002

    This book features collection of essays on consciousness. It is intended as a sequel to the author’s 1991 book, The Problem of Consciousness. Although the author has not modified his views in the last decade, he has included his position under the label ‘mysterianism’, in the canon of positions regarding the mind-body problem. Chapters 1-3 focus on the mind-body problem. Chapters 4-6 deal with the concept of matter. Chapter 7 features a dialogue …

  • Logical Properties

    John Macfarlane, Colin McginnARTICLEThe Philosophical Review2002

  • The character of mind

    Colin Mcginn

    This book provides a general introduction to the philosophy of mind. The author aims to give the reader something definite and stimulating to think about, rather than to present a cautious and disinterested survey of the state of the subject.

  • The character of mind

    Colin Mcginn

    1.: Mental Phenomena. 2.: Mind and Body. 3.: Consciousness. 4.: Acquaintance with Things. 5.: Content. 6.: Thought and Language. 7.: Cognitive Science. 8.: Action. 9.: The Self. Epilogue: The Place of the Philosophy of Mind. Further Reading. Index

  • Philosophy of Language

    Colin Mcginn

    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 an…

  • Problems in Philosophy. The Limits of Inquiry

    Colin Mcginn

  • The Problem of Consciousness

    Colin Mcginn

    Preface. 1. Can We Solve the Mind--Body Problem?. 2. Consciousness and Content. 3. Consciousness and the Natural Order. 4. The Hidden Structure of Consciousness. 5. Mental States, Natural Kinds and Psychophysical Laws. 6. Philosophical Materialism. 7. Functionalism and Phenomenalism: A Critical Note. 8. Could a Machine be Conscious?. Index.