From Psychology to Phenomenology : Franz Brentano's 'Psychology From an Empirical Standpoint' and Contemporary Philosophy of Mind

Although highly influential, Brentano's doctrines from Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint were taken up and changed by his students and subsequent thinkers. Tassone's study of this important text offers readers a better understanding of PES and outlines its ongoing relevance for contemporary philosophy of mind. In 1874 a controversial ex-Catholic priest published a book that would change the course of contemporary psychology and philosophy. Franz Brentano, a German professor of philosophy, would go on to teach students as important and diverse as Edmund Husserl, Sigmund Freud, and Rudolf Steiner. Brentano's Psychology from an Empirical Standpoint, would go on to make a mark in the history of philosophy for its reintroduction of the doctrine of intentionality in philosophy of mind and its ambitious attempt to establish psychology as an autonomous science. Brentano's Psychology explored important aspects of the mind and mental life such as the nature of consciousness and mental representation. In subsequent years the course of modern philosophy and modern psychology would change dramatically and Brentano's approach would be left as an important source more referenced in passing than paid serious attention. Biagio Tassone's study From Psychology to Phenomenology offers an in depth exploration of Brentano's seminal work as an example of a still relevant approach to philosophy of mind Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction....Pages 1-14 Front Matter....Pages 15-15 Brentano’s Intellectual Background....Pages 17-37 Brentano’s Aristotelianism and Early Writings on Aristotle....Pages 38-74 Front Matter....Pages 75-75 Psychology as a Science....Pages 77-107 “Intentional Inexistence” and the Separation of “Psychic” from “Physical” Phenomena....Pages 108-135 Psychic Acts Further Explored: The Unity of Consciousness and Brentano’s Classification of Mental Acts....Pages 136-157 Brentano’s Theory of Judgment and the Connection of Feelings and Acts of Will....Pages 158-188 Front Matter....Pages 189-189 From Psychology to Phenomenology: Brentano and Contemporary Philosophy of Mind....Pages 191-220 The Intentional Dynamic and Phenomenology: The Relevance of Brentano’s Epistemology and Philosophy of Mind....Pages 221-246 Conclusion....Pages 247-250 Back Matter....Pages 251-331