The Common Mind An Essay on Psychology, Society, and Politics

by Pettit, Philip

• ISBN13: 9780195106459
• ISBN10: 0195106458
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-04-18
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

What makes human beings intentional and thinking subjects? How does their intentionality and thought connect with their social nature and their communal experience? How do the answers to these questions shape the assumptions which it is legitimate to make in social explanation and politicalevaluation? These are the broad-ranging issues which Pettit addresses in this novel study. The Common Mind argues for an original way of marking off thinking subjects, in particular human beings, from other intentional systems, natural and artificial. It holds by the holistic view that humanthought requires communal resources while denying that this social connection compromises the autonomy of individuals. And, in developing the significance of this view of social subjects--this holistic individualism--it outlines a novel framework for social and political theory. Within thisframework, social theory is allowed to follow any of a number of paths: space is found for intentional interpretation and decision-theoretic reconstruction, for structural explanation and rational choice derivation. But political theory is treated less ecumenically. The framework raises seriousquestions about contractarian and atomistic modes of thought and it points the way to a republican rethinking of liberal commitments.

Author Biography

Philip Pettit is Professor of Social and Political Theory in the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University

Table of Contents

I MIND	3	(108)
Preview	3	(7)
1. Intentionality	10	(44)
Intentional Agents	10	(14)
Intentional States	24	(19)
Theories of Intentionality	43	(11)
2. Thought	54	(57)
Two Requirements of Thought	60	(9)
The First Requirement: Intentional Ascent	69	(7)
The Second Requirement: Rule-Following	76	(35)
II MIND AND SOCIETY	111	(106)
Preview	111	(6)
3. For Individualism, against Collectivism	117	(48)
The Issue	119	(24)
Do Structural Regularities Override Intentional?	143	(12)
Do Structural Regularities Outflank Intentional?	155	(10)
4. For Holism, against Atomism	165	(52)
The Issue	165	(10)
The Argument for Holism	175	(18)
Holism and Relativism	193	(24)
III MIND, SOCIETY AND THEORY	217	(123)
Preview	217	(11)
5. Social Theory	228	(56)
Intentional Interpretation	229	(19)
Structural and Historicist Theory	248	(16)
Rational Choice Theory	264	(20)
6. Political Theory	284	(56)
Contract-Centred Thought	288	(14)
Value-Centred Thought	302	(20)
Institution-Centred Thought	322	(18)
Postscript: A Common Mind in Three Senses	340	(17)
References	357	(14)
Index	371