Human Nature : The Categorial Framework

This major new study returns to Aristotle in order to examine the salient categories in terms of which we think about ourselves and our nature. An overview of the concepts of substance, causation, power and agency provides the background for an investigation into teleology, rationality and explanations of behaviour in terms of reasons.

This major study examines the most fundamental categories in terms of which we conceive of ourselves, critically surveying the concepts of substance, causation, agency, teleology, rationality, mind, body and person, and elaborating the conceptual fields in which they are embedded. The culmination of 40 years of thought on the philosophy of mind and the nature of the mankindWritten by one of the world’s leading philosophers, the co-author of the monumental 4 volume Analytical Commentary on the Philosophical Investigations (Blackwell Publishing, 1980-2004)Uses broad categories, such as substance, causation, agency and power to examine how we think about ourselves and our naturePlatonic and Aristotelian conceptions of human nature are sketched and contrastedIndividual chapters clarify and provide an historical overview of a specific concept, then link the concept to ideas contained in other chapters