Other minds

by Alec Hyslop

This new study is by far the most comprehensive examination yet of a problem that involves us all: the basis of our knowledge that others have minds. It insists against the received wisdom, that no theory of mind can avoid the problem or make it easier to solve. Nor is there any way to avoid a crucial reliance on the theorist's own experience. Alec Hyslop rigorously defends a (modified) version of the traditional analogical inference to other minds and rejects alternatives, but only after subjecting each of them to a sustained, searching examination. Other Minds is a densely argued, original contribution to philosophy that will be useful, given its comprehensiveness and its non-technical language, to all who are interested in this great issue.