Habits of Mind A Brand New Condillac
Is there anything in the mind that was not first in the senses? According to the received view, the French empiricist Étienne Bonnot de Condillac’s (1714–1780) answer to this was a firm “No”. Unlike Locke, who accepted the existence of innate faculties, Condillac rejected the existence of all innate...
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Aperio
2019-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Modern Philosophy |
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| Online Access: | https://jmphil.org/article/id/2166/ |
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| author | Jeremy Dunham |
| author_facet | Jeremy Dunham |
| author_sort | Jeremy Dunham |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Is there anything in the mind that was not first in the senses? According to the received view, the French empiricist Étienne Bonnot de Condillac’s (1714–1780) answer to this was a firm “No”. Unlike Locke, who accepted the existence of innate faculties, Condillac rejected the existence of all innate structure and instinctive behaviours. Everything, therefore, is learned. In this article, I argue that from at least the writing of his 1754 Traité des sensations, this reading fails to capture the true nature of his philosophy of mind. I present a genetic reading of Condillac’s philosophy that shows that from the 1750s until his death in 1780, he developed, by engaging closely with the life sciences of his day, an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the mind and perception. This understanding depends on the acceptance of the activity of the mind, innate structure, and a moderate defence of instincts—all characteristics of the mind that he is most commonly read as rejecting. Reading Condillac in this genetic way demonstrates that his philosophy of mind is much more original and powerful than has previously been recognised. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-380371663c3c435bae860ecbc8e27e53 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2644-0652 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
| publisher | Aperio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Modern Philosophy |
| spelling | doaj-art-380371663c3c435bae860ecbc8e27e532025-01-31T16:08:00ZengAperioJournal of Modern Philosophy2644-06522019-01-011010.25894/jmp.2166Habits of Mind A Brand New CondillacJeremy Dunham0Durham Is there anything in the mind that was not first in the senses? According to the received view, the French empiricist Étienne Bonnot de Condillac’s (1714–1780) answer to this was a firm “No”. Unlike Locke, who accepted the existence of innate faculties, Condillac rejected the existence of all innate structure and instinctive behaviours. Everything, therefore, is learned. In this article, I argue that from at least the writing of his 1754 Traité des sensations, this reading fails to capture the true nature of his philosophy of mind. I present a genetic reading of Condillac’s philosophy that shows that from the 1750s until his death in 1780, he developed, by engaging closely with the life sciences of his day, an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the mind and perception. This understanding depends on the acceptance of the activity of the mind, innate structure, and a moderate defence of instincts—all characteristics of the mind that he is most commonly read as rejecting. Reading Condillac in this genetic way demonstrates that his philosophy of mind is much more original and powerful than has previously been recognised.https://jmphil.org/article/id/2166/CondillacEmpiricismInnate IdeasVitalismPhilosophy of Mind |
| spellingShingle | Jeremy Dunham Habits of Mind A Brand New Condillac Journal of Modern Philosophy Condillac Empiricism Innate Ideas Vitalism Philosophy of Mind |
| title | Habits of Mind A Brand New Condillac |
| title_full | Habits of Mind A Brand New Condillac |
| title_fullStr | Habits of Mind A Brand New Condillac |
| title_full_unstemmed | Habits of Mind A Brand New Condillac |
| title_short | Habits of Mind A Brand New Condillac |
| title_sort | habits of mind a brand new condillac |
| topic | Condillac Empiricism Innate Ideas Vitalism Philosophy of Mind |
| url | https://jmphil.org/article/id/2166/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jeremydunham habitsofmindabrandnewcondillac |