Name Lilli Alanen Role Philosopher | Grandparents Walter Ahlstrom Nephews Alvar Gullichsen | |
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Books Descartes's concept of mind, Studies in Cartesian epistemology and philosophy of mind Parents Maire Gullichsen, Harry Gullichsen Siblings Kristian Gullichsen, Johan Gullichsen Similar People |
Lilli Alanen (née Gullichsen, born 1941) is a Finnish philosopher and Professor of History of Philosophy at Department of Philosophy at Uppsala University, Sweden. She specialises in the history of philosophy — with particular interest in René Descartes and David Hume but she has also contributed to feminist philosophy.
In her critically received book on Descartes (2003), Alanen goes beyond mere history, drawing out the historical antecedents and the intellectual evolution of Descartes' thinking about the mind, showing how his emphasis on the embodiment of the mind has implications far more complex and interesting than the usual dualist account associated with his thinking suggests.
Lilli Alanen is a member of the Ahlström family. Her mother was Finnish art collector and patronage Maire Gullichsen.