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Anton Wilhelm Amo's Philosophy of Mind

Chris Meyns

Philosophy Compass March 1, 2019 DOI: 10.1111/phc3.12571 (opens in new tab)

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AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed
Topics Philosophy of mind
Key points The article presents Amo's argument that the human mind is a purely active, immaterial substance that always acts spontaneously and cannot be acted upon, and it introduces his strongly representationalist position. It discusses how far Amo's account circumvents the problem of epistemic isolation to which his views seem to give rise.

Abstract

Abstract: One of Anton Wilhelm Amo's core contributions to philosophy is his study of the human mind. Amo argues that the human mind is a purely active, immaterial substance that always acts spontaneously and cannot itself be acted upon. Amo's account of the mind has far‐reaching consequences for how he views the relation between mind and body, and our cognitive relation to the sensible world around us. This article introduces Amo's strongly representationalist position, and discusses the extent to which he circumvents the problem of epistemic isolation to which his views seem to give rise.

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