ABSTRACT In 1798, Thomas Robert Malthus’s infamous An Essay on the Principle of Population was published. The publication of the Essay is best remembered for Malthus’s principle – that population multiplies geometrically as opposed to subsistence increasing arithmetically. What is not well known, however, is that Malthus’s Essay also offered a sophisticated – and heterodox – theory of mind. Despite a recent revival in Malthusian scholarship, Malthus’s theory of mind has been largely forgotten. The present study attempts to address this neglected area within the literature, by evaluating Malthus’s contribution to the naturalization of the soul. I first situate Malthus’s theory of mind within the Essay’s broader naturalization project, examining Malthus’s role as naturalist; his views on humans as animals; and the Essay’s cosmology. This is followed by an exploration of the making and reception of the Essay, illustrating how readers widely interpreted Malthus’s theory of mind as a theory of naturalization. Finally, I reconstruct Malthus’s naturalized system of mind, discussing the mechanisms and dynamics involved in the operation of a materialist mind. In sum, I argue for the centrality of Malthus’s Essay in the larger naturalization movement, specifically as it pertains to the soul.

中文翻译：

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托马斯·罗伯特·马尔萨斯，心灵的博物学家

摘要 1798 年，托马斯·罗伯特·马尔萨斯 (Thomas Robert Malthus) 臭名昭著的《人口原理论文》出版。这篇论文的出版最令人难忘的是马尔萨斯的原则——人口以几何方式倍增，而不是在算术上增长。然而，鲜为人知的是，马尔萨斯的论文还提供了一种复杂且异端的心理理论。尽管最近马尔萨斯的学术复兴，但马尔萨斯的心智理论在很大程度上已被遗忘。本研究试图通过评估马尔萨斯对灵魂归化的贡献来解决文献中这一被忽视的领域。我首先将马尔萨斯的心理理论置于论文更广泛的归化项目中，考察马尔萨斯作为博物学家的角色；他对人类作为动物的看法；和论文的宇宙学。接下来是对论文的制作和接受的探索，说明读者如何广泛地将马尔萨斯的心理理论解释为归化理论。最后，我重构了马尔萨斯的自然化心智系统，讨论了唯物主义心智运作所涉及的机制和动力。总之，我主张马尔萨斯的论文在更大的归化运动中的中心地位，特别是因为它与灵魂有关。