Identity, Cause, and Mind

Identity, Cause, and Mind brings together philosopher Sydney Shoemaker's writings on personal identity, causation, and the philosophy of mind. The essays span several decades of Shoemaker's work and represent key developments in his thinking on these fundamental metaphysical topics. The book addresses core questions about the nature of the self, including what makes a person the same entity over time despite physical and psychological changes. Shoemaker examines theories of causation and their relationship to counterfactuals, laws of nature, and mental properties. The collection includes Shoemaker's influential papers on functionalism in the philosophy of mind and his arguments about the relationship between properties and causal powers. His analyses engage with other major philosophical figures while developing original perspectives on these issues. The essays demonstrate the interconnections between metaphysics and the philosophy of mind, suggesting that progress in understanding consciousness and mental states requires grappling with fundamental questions about identity and causation. Shoemaker's work has shaped how philosophers approach these perennial problems.

There are very limited public reader reviews available for this academic philosophy text. On Goodreads, the book has only 3 ratings with an average of 4.33/5 stars, but no written reviews. Readers note that the book provides detailed arguments about personal identity and causation. A review on PhilPapers praises Shoemaker's "rigorous analysis of self-knowledge and first-person authority." Graduate students mention using specific chapters, especially "Self-Knowledge and Self-Identity," in their philosophy coursework. Critical comments focus on the dense writing style and heavy use of technical philosophical language. Some readers suggest the material could be more accessible to those outside academic philosophy. Ratings: Goodreads: 4.33/5 (3 ratings) No ratings available on Amazon No ratings on other major book review sites The specialized nature of this philosophical text means there are few consumer reviews compared to general audience books.

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Physicalism, or Something Near Enough by Jaegwon Kim A systematic analysis of mental properties, supervenience, and the challenges of reconciling physicalism with mental causation.

The Varieties of Reference by Gareth Evans A foundational text connecting theories of reference with questions of self-awareness, demonstrative thought, and personal identity.

🔹 Sydney Shoemaker developed his influential theory of "self-acquaintance" in this book, arguing that we know our own mental states not through internal observation but through their functional roles in our cognitive system. 🔹 The book is actually a collection of essays written over two decades, first published in 1984, showcasing the evolution of Shoemaker's thoughts on personal identity and the mind-body problem. 🔹 Shoemaker coined the term "quasi-memory" in these essays to address Derek Parfit's challenges about personal identity, suggesting a way to imagine remembering experiences that didn't actually happen to oneself. 🔹 The author attended Cornell University as both an undergraduate and graduate student, and later returned as a professor in 1961, where he spent the majority of his academic career developing the theories presented in this work. 🔹 The book's arguments about property exemplification and the nature of causation have been particularly influential in debates about mental causation and the metaphysics of mind, cited extensively in contemporary philosophy of mind.