Colin McGinn

Colin McGinn is an English-born American philosopher and author who has been teaching, researching, and writing about philosophy for over three decades. His work focuses on the philosophy of mind, specifically addressing the mind-body problem. McGinn is a prolific author, having published more than two dozen books and hundreds of articles. He is a renowned lecturer, having taught at some of the world's top universities including Oxford, Yale, and Princeton.

McGinn was born in Sedgley, England in 1950, the second of six children. His father was a carpenter and his mother was a housekeeper. He attended secondary school in Dudley and then the University of Birmingham, graduating in 1971. Afterwards, he went on to pursue postgraduate studies at the University of Oxford and the University of Freiburg.

McGinn's first book, The Subjective View, was published in 1983 and addressed issues related to aesthetics and the philosophy of mind. He continued writing, most notably with a trilogy of books on the philosophy of mind that he published throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The trilogy includes The Problem of Consciousness (1991), The Character of Mind (1996), and Mindsight: Image, Dream, Meaning (1999). He also published Meaning and Mental Representation (1988) and Consciousness and Its Objects (2004).

McGinn's writing style and ideas have been highly influential in the world of philosophy. He is an exponent of eliminativist physicalism, which suggests that mental processes are caused by physical states. His works draw on traditional philosophy as well as positivist and empiricist influences. In addition, McGinn is well known for arguing that humans may never understand the nature of consciousness due to its intractable character. He calls this 'the new mysterianism.'

McGinn has also written extensively outside the realm of philosophy. He has written fiction, film reviews, and books on film and literature. In recent years, he has also strongly criticized some of the newer trends in analytic philosophy and argued that too many contemporary philosophers tend to be 'anti-philosophical.'

Despite his sometimes challenging academic work, McGinn remains a popular lecturer and teacher, drawing large audiences worldwide. He has been an invited speaker at many of the world's top universities and his books are frequently featured in philosophy courses. He continues to write and lecture on philosophy and other topics, giving us insight into the complexity of the mind and its relationship to the physical world.