The Formation of Reason

David Bakhurst is the John and Ella G. Charlton Professor of Philosophy at Queen's University, Kingston, Canada. He is the author of Consciousness and Revolution in Soviet Philosophy (1991) and co-editor (with Christine Sypnowich) of The Social Self (1995) and (with Stuart Shanker) of Jerome Bruner: Language, Culture, Self (2001).

Acknowledgements Foreword Author s Preface 1. What Can Philosophy Tell Us About How History Made the Mind? What Role for Philosophy? Wittgenstein and Davidson Wittgenstein and Davidson Contrasted McDowell The Idea of Bildung Understanding the Bildungsprozess The Conceptual and the Practical Conclusion 2. Social Constructionism Social Constructionism Introduced The Social Construction of Reality Why Bother About Global Constructionism? Against Global Constructionism Matters Political The Social Construction of Mental States Why Mental States Are Not Socially Constructed The Social Construction of Psychological Categories Conclusion 3. Self and Other Problems of Self and Other The Problem of Self and Other in One s Own Person Strawson on Persons Wiggins on Persons and Human Nature The Significance of Second Nature Further Positives Conclusion: Two Cautionary Notes 4. Freedom, Reflection and the Sources of Normativity McDowell on Judgement Owens s Critique Defending Intellectual Freedom Freedom and the Sources of Normativity Sources of Normativity I: Practical Reasoning Sources of Normativity II: Theoretical Reasoning A McDowellian Response Conclusion 5. Exploring the Space of Reasons McDowell on the Space of Reasons Brandom sInferentialism Ilyenkov on the Ideal Conclusion 6. Reason and Its Limits: Music, Mood and Education An Initial Response The Challenge Reconfigured Passivity Within Spontaneity Mood Mood, Salience and Shape Music Education Conclusion 7. Education Makes Us What We Are A Residual Individualism Vygotsky s Legacy Reconciling Vygotsky and McDowell Personalism Final Thoughts on Education References Index