Prehistory of Cognitive Science

ANDREW BROOK is Professor of Philosophy and Director, Institute of Cognitive Science. Educated at the Universities of Alberta and Oxford (D. Phil.), he has been at various times Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at Carleton, President of the Canadian Philosophical Association, and National Council Member of the Canadian Psychoanalytic Society. He has authored or edited eight books and about 100 publications in total.

• List of Contributors Preface Introduction PART I: THE ROOTS OF COGNITIVE SCIENCE IN THE EARLY MODERN ERA The Separation of Thought and Action in Western Tradition; S.Ohlsson Language and Thought: Descartes and Some Reflections on Venerable Themes; N.Chomsky Hobbes' Challenge; M.Dascal Doing It His Way: Hume's Theory of Ideas and Contemporary Cognitive Science; A.J.Jacobson Kant and Cognitive Science; A.Brook PART II: INNOVATIONS IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY The Early Darwinians, Natural Selection and Cognitive Science; D.Ross Wundt's Theoretical Psychology: An Unknown Legacy From a Gilded Age; A.L.Blumenthal Frege: Furnishing Formal Foundations; P.Simons Remembering William James; T.B.Henley Freud's Interdisciplinary Fiasco; P.Kitcher

'A useful collection tracing some of the rarely-acknowledged sources of ideas in cognitive science.' - Maggie Boden, Research Professor of Cognitive Science, University of Sussex, UK 'One attraction, and challenge, of cognitive science is the range of disciplines it integrates. A scientific theory of mind requires, it now appears, ideas from fields as diverse as computation, evolution, neurobiology, and physics. The Prehistory of Cognitive Science admirably explores many central ideas in contemporary cognitive science, and provides an illuminating historical context in which to better understand the provenance of current conceptions and debates. Its focus on key ideas and their most influential proponents makes the book ideal for the reader who wants a concise, and engaging, intellectual history of the field.' - Donald D. Hoffman, Professor of Philosophy, Department of Cognitive Science, University of California, Irvine, USA 'This collection is accessible to a broad audience and the essays together serve as a good introduction to major figures in the history of psychology and philosophy, as well as contemporary trends in cognitive science.' - Michael Losonsky, Pragmatics& Cognition 'Andrew Brook has edited a fascinating volume of chapters on diverse topics in the history of the cognitive sciences For any student of cognition and its history, The Prehistory of Cognitive Science is thoroughly recommended' Perception