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Spring 2001
Volume 00, Number 2

Newsletter on Philosophy and Computers

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Electronic Journals: Number 7

Robert L. Causey, Review Editor
Department of Philosophy
The University of Texas at Austin
rlc@cs.utexas.edu
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/philosophy/faculty/causey

   This is the seventh installment in a series of short reviews of electronic journals (e-journals) devoted to philosophical topics. I have been the Review Editor and have been writing these e-journal reviews since the 1996 Spring edition of the Newsletter. Five years is a good term for a reviews editor, so I am resigning from this position with this review. I trust that, in the future, others will write interesting reviews of useful web pages.

   The Mental Health Net (hereafter, MHN), http://mentalhelp.net, is a large web site devoted to a variety of mental health issues ranging from eating disorders to schizophrenia. According to its "About Us" blurb, the "Mental Health Net is run by psychologist, Mark Dombeck, Ph.D. and is an information service sponsored by CMHC Systems." The latter is a company that develops management information systems for human service organizations. Most of the content of the MHN is of general interest, but not of special interest to philosophers. Its welcoming page is overly busy and somewhat garish, but the site visitor should try to ignore these features, and move on.

   The MHN web site includes a very large book reviewing service. This section is called "Metapsychology Book Reviews," is located at http://mentalhelp.net/books/, and amounts to a substantial online book review journal. Many different kinds of books are reviewed here, and the web page visitor can search books in various categories. One of these categories is "philosophical" books. This review is limited to it, although some of the other categories, for instance, "genetics," contain reviews that would be of interest to philosophers. "Metapsychology Book Reviews" is edited by Christian Perring, who is an Assistant Professor in Philosophy and Religious Studies at Dowling College, Long Island, NY. Some of the reviews are written by Perring, but many of them are produced by other reviewers, including some regular reviewers in various professions and a number of philosophy faculty members. The reviews that I have read are interesting, informative, well written, and objective. Although some of the reviews are brief, most are detailed, with lengths between 1500 and 2000 words.

   Among the "philosophical" books that have been reviewed at this web site are many that would not be considered academic philosophy books. I shall not discuss them here. Some of the reviewed books treat applied philosophy issues, such as Ethics in Psychiatric Research: A Resource Manual for Human Subjects Protection, by Harold Alan Pincus, M.D., Jeffrey A. Lieberman, M.D., Sandy Ferris (editors) American Psychiatric Press; 1999; and Ethics of Psychiatry: Insanity, Rational Autonomy, and Mental Health Care, by Rem B. Edwards (Editor) Prometheus Books; 1997. Some are of general philosophical interest such as What Nietzsche Really Said, by Robert C. Solomon and Kathleen Marie Higgins, Schocken Books; 2000, but most of the philosophical books are concerned with the philosophy of mind or issues in cognitive science. Here are a few examples of recently reviewed books of this kind:

Towards a Science of Consciousness III: The Third Tucson Discussions and Debates, by S. Hameroff, A. Kaszniak, and D. Chalmers (editors), MIT Press; 2000. Review by Aldo Mosca on 21 Mar 2000.

The Paradox of Self Consciousness, by Jose Luis Bermudez, Bradford Books/MIT Press; 1998. Review by Andrew Brook on 1 Jul 2000.

The Myth of Pain, by Valerie Hardcastle, Bradford Books/MIT Press; 1999. Review by Timothy J. Bayne on 1 Aug 2000.

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mind, by E. J. Lowe, Cambridge University Press; 2000 . Review by Bryan Benham on 11 Oct 2000.

Cognitive Theories of Mental Illness, THE MONIST, Volume 82, No. 4. by Joelle Proust, Special Editor, Hegeler Institute; 1999. Review by George Graham. on 20 Nov 2000.

Other than the fact that they are recent reviews, my selection of these particular examples is based only on my personal interests. Naturally, some of the reviews are more informative than others, and some are more critical than others. Yet, they are all useful reviews, and I found each of them to be worthwhile reading. There are many other good reviews in "Metapsychology Book Reviews." It is a valuable resource on the internet.

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APA Newsletters

Spring 2001 Volume 00, Number 2

Spring 2001
Volume 00, Number 2