The Philosophical Pre-History of the Duplex Mind
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4454/philinq.v4i2.126Keywords:
David Hume, Psychology, Philosophy of Mind, Dual Process Theory, Duplex MindAbstract
According to the “Duplex Mind”, or dual process theory, there are two basic kinds of cognitive processes: type 1 processes operate automatically and involuntarily, operate independently of conscious processes, and are fast and effortless; whilst type 2 processes do not operate automatically, are associated with conscious awareness and control, and are comparatively slow and effortful. Such theories of human cognition are commonly held to go back to William James. This article argues that a fully-fledged dual process theory was already developed over 150 years prior to this, in the work of David Hume. Hume's innovation played a foundational role in subsequent Scottish Enlightenment work on ethical, social, political and historical theory.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication, with the work five (5) years after publication licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
After five years from first publication, Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
