Mind, Reason, and
Being-in-the-World:
The McDowell-Dreyfus
Debate
Joseph K. Schear
John McDowell and Hubert
L. Dreyfus are philosophers of world renown, whose work has decisively shaped
the fields of analytic philosophy and phenomenology respectively. Mind, Reason,
and Being-in-the-World: The McDowell-Dreyfus Debate opens with their debate
over one of the most important and controversial subjects of philosophy: is
human experience pervaded by conceptual rationality, or does experience mark
the limits of reason? Is all intelligibility rational, or is there a form of
intelligibility at work in our skilful bodily rapport with the world that
eludes our intellectual capacities? McDowell and Dreyfus provide a fascinating
insight into some fundamental differences between analytic philosophy and
phenomenology, as well as areas where they may have something in common.
Fifteen specially
commissioned chapters by distinguished international contributors enrich the
debate inaugurated by McDowell and Dreyfus, taking it in a number of different
and important directions. Fundamental philosophical problems discussed include:
the embodied mind, subjectivity and self-consciousness, intentionality,
rationality, practical skills, human agency, and the history of philosophy from
Kant to Hegel to Heidegger to Merleau-Ponty. With the addition of these
outstanding contributions, Mind, Reason, and Being-in-the-World is essential
reading for students and scholars of analytic philosophy and phenomenology.
