Descartes and the Puzzle of Sensory Representation

While much has been written on Descartes' theory of mind and ideas, no systematic study of his theory of sensory representation and misrepresentation is currently available in the literature. Descartes and the Puzzle of Sensory Misrepresentation is an ambitious attempt to fill this gap. It argues against the established view that Cartesian sensations are mere qualia by defending the view that they are representational; it offers a descriptivist-causal account of their representationality that is critical of, and differs from, all other extant accounts (such as, for example, causal, teleofunctional and purely internalist accounts); and it has the advantage of providing an adequate solution to the problem of sensory misrepresentation within Descartes' internalist theory of ideas. In sum, the book offers a novel account of the representationality of Cartesian sensations; provides a panoramic overview, and critical assessment, of the scholarly literature on this issue; and places Descartes' theory of sensation in the central position it deserves among the philosophical and scientific investigations of the workings of the human mind.

ISBN 019957037X   Pages 208 ISBN13 9780199570379 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 387 Publisher Oxford University Press   Published in Oxford Imprint Oxford University Press   Height (mm) 223 Format Hardback   Width (mm) 143 Publication date 07 Jan 2010   Spine width (mm) 17 DEWEY 121.34   Academic level Postgraduate DEWEY edition DC22

1		Descartes' Account of Ideas and the Puzzle of Sensory Representation		11
2		Non-Representationalist Solutions: Cartesian Sensations as Qualia		36
3		Externalist Solutions: Causal Accounts		67
4		Externalist Solutions: Teleofunctional Accounts		95
5		A Descriptivist-Causal Account and the Solution of the Puzzle of Sensory Representation		117
6		Objections and Replies		162
		Conclusion		178
		References		180
		Index		187

De Rosa's examination of sensory representation in Descartes is both an intensive study and a masterful polemic on a subject of major concern to all Descartes scholars. It is an excellent contribution to a recent renaissance of erudite and deep studies of Descartes' epistemology. Richard A. Watson, Journal of the History of Philosophy De Rosa's book presents an interesting thesis... It also addresses a wide range of Cartesian texts, and provides a useful entree into the complex literature on Cartesian sensation theory... It should promote discussion of a topic that Hume rightly considered indispensible to an in-depth understanding of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century philosophy. David Clemenson, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

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