"John Wisdom is one of a loose group of philosophers who are gaining recognition for their unique approach to problems in philosophy of mind, language, and religion. Owing much to the dizzying reorientation produced by Ludwig Wittgenstein, Wisdom attempts to better understand the epistemological puzzle that presents itself when we give a quick sketch of human beings existing and relating to each other in the world. We might assume that to be human is to exist as a body and a mind; the body is public, extended, finite, and divisible; the mind is abstract, intangible, and private; one's body belongs to the physical world, but one's mind belongs chiefly and conspicuously to oneself. If we assume a picture something like what's suggested above, then we face a quandary. How can we ever know the contents of another's mind?

Wisdom presents the reader with an array of examples meant to elucidate the concepts and expose the assumptions that give this classic philosophical problem its hypnotic power. His methods are contentious. And whether or not you are inclined to agree with them, the fate of philosophy of mind - and psychology and cognitive science by extension - hangs in the balance."