Inthisbook,MartinLenzprovidesthefirstreconstructionofintersubjectiveaccountsofthemindinearlymodernphilosophy.Somephenomenaareeasilyrecognisedassocialorinteractive:certaindances,formsofworkandritualsrequireinteractiontocomeintobeingorcountasvalid.Butwhataboutmentalstates,suchasthoughts,volitions,oremotions?Doourmindsalsodependonotherminds?Theideathatourmindsareintersubjectiveorsocialseemstobearecentone,developedmainlyinthe19thand20thcenturiesagainsttheindividualismofearlymodernphilosophers.Bycontrast,thisbookarguesthatwell-knownearlymodernphilosophersoftenstartedfromtheideathatmindsareintersubjective.Howthendoesaminddependonthemindsofothers?Earlymodernphilosophersarewellknowntohavedevelopedanumberoftheoriesdesignedtoexplainhowwecognizeexternalobjects.Whatishardlyrecognizedisthatearlymodernphilosophersalsoaddressedtheproblemofhowourcognitionisinfluencedbyotherminds.Thisbookprovidesahistoricalandrationalreconstructionofthreecentral,butdifferent,earlymodernaccountsoftheinfluencethatmindsexertononeanother:Spinoza’smetaphysicalmodel,Locke’slinguisticmodel,andHume’smedicalmodel.Showingforeachmodelofmentalinteraction(1)whyitwasdeveloped,(2)howitconstruesmind-mindrelations,and(3)whatviewoftheminditsuggests,thisbookaimsatuncoveringacrucialpartoftheunwrittenhistoryofintersubjectivityinthephilosophyofmind.
