Modern Approaches to the Mind-Body Problem Flashcards
descartes’ substance dualism
- mind & brain made up of 2 things
- interact via pineal gland
epiphenomenalists: bodily states can cause bodily & mental states. mental states cannot
leibniz’s parallelism
- mental & physical states cause each other, but are separate processes
- mind & body dont interact directly
- instead live parallel lives
- caused by god
no mind-body problem
mind-body problem
- if diff subjects: dont interact or separate substances or wave problem away
- or they are 1 substance (monism)
- substance: mental (idealists), physical (materialists), compromise between both aspects (neutral monists)
mind-body spectrum
- dualism
- monism
dualisms
- substance dualism - descartes
- property dualism
property dualism
- only one kind of thing but matter has mental 7 physical components
- emergent materialism (Chalmers)
- epiphenomenalism (Huxley)
monism
- only one kind of thing in the universe - matter
- computational functionalism (putnam)
- eliminative materialism (churchland)
- type identity theory (place)
- behaviourism (ryle)
philosophical behaviourism
ryle
- mental states are statements about the ‘beh’ of mind
- treating them as separate statements is a ‘category mistake’
- capable of not acting on impulses unless states are really dispositions
eliminate the need for ‘mind’ by reducing it to ‘beh’
philosophical behaviourism critiques
- required to deny mental states and experiences
- ignorance about one’s own self
- ‘super spartans’: not allowed to show pain, mean they cant feel pain?
- states ref beh but beh also ref states
neuroscience shows concepts like ‘pain’ and ‘trust’ map onto certain brain areas - both beh and a state
phenomenology
the study of phenomenas from phenomenous perspective
shown by physicality, mind embodied in the things that we do
existentialism
everything is meaningless & pointless
structuralism
everything located within mind
mind centre
epiphenomenalism
huxley
- brain causes mental states
- mental states have no affect on physical states
- humans & animals are automata, reflexively responding to stimuli
mental properties are real, but have no causal role
emotion & epiphenomenalism
- caused by neurochemical interactions in brain
- no causal efficacy
- James-Lang theory of emotion relevant
- BUT: how do ppl act ‘emotionally’, purpose?
arguments for epiphenomenalism
- neuropsych: many reactions dont require conscious functioning
- neurophysiology: conscious awareness follows the brain states that ‘cause’ it
- behaviourism: predicted on stimulus/response without ref to mind
conscious awareness of making a movement might come some time after the movement
arguments against epiphenomenalism
- evolutionary: if mind serves no function, why evolve?
- interact: how do they interact?
- empirical: mind had a ‘concsious veto’ over beh?
- logic: if mind cant affect brain, how do we know about it?
panpsychism
nagel
- everything has mental properties
- mind is a non-physical property of all matter
- mental properties are found in all forms of matter
all matter has non-physical properties which can produce mental states