Inner and Outer

A compilation of 17 essays which consider the philosophical views of voluntary action, perception and communication. The author attacks dualist theories and defends alternative accounts for their receptiveness to ordinary thought. His other titles include "Perception" and "The Embodied Mind".

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A traditional view of voluntary action, perception and communication is that each of them involves two distinct elements, one inner or mental and one outer or physical. Voluntary action is held to comprise an inner act of willing, a "volition", and a bodily movement somehow produced by the volition. Perception is held to occur when something in the "external" world somehow gets represented in the mind. Communication is said to involve the translation of ideas or thoughts into words or sentences, and back again. The 17 papers in this volume constitute a sustained attack on these dualist theories, and a defence of alternative accounts, more in keeping with how we ordinarily talk and think.