Metaphysics of Mind Flashcards
(12 cards)
What does it mean for a mental state to have intentionality
A mental state that is about something (so is in the noumenal world) and is non-intrinsic. An example of an intentional mental state would be a proposition or a command.
What does it mean for a mental state to have qualia
A mental state with qualia is non-relational and intrinsic (so exists in the phenomenal world). Qualia is introspectively accessible for this reason. An example would be a perceptual experience such as how it feels to see the colour red.
What is substance dualism
There are two distinct types of substance: the physical and non-physical. There is a non-physical realm in which minds exist that is entirely separate from the physical realm (e.g the brain).
What is property dualism
Physical stuff has two distinct types of properties: physical and non-physical. There are non-physical properties of the physical world in addition to all the physical properties of the physical world. Therefore mental states can be seen as non-physical properties of the physical body (like qualia). An actual non-physical substance does not exist.
Describe Hempel’s hard behaviourism
A physicalist theory of the mind that states that when we are talking about the mind, we are really just talking about bodies and their behaviour, which we can describe by exclusively using the language of physics. It believes that propositions about mental states equal propositions about behaviour. So all propositions about mental states can be analytically reduced to a finite list of statements about behaviour. In other words, the mind is nothing more than a collection of behaviours - so if you describe all possible behaviours, you have described the mind.
Describe Ryle’s soft behaviourism and how it responds to the main objection about hard behaviourism
Soft behaviourism was proposed as a response to the obvious objection to hard behaviourism, which is that you can have a mental state but not display any resulting behaviour (like hiding that you are in pain).
Instead, soft behaviourism states that all propositions about mental states equal to a disposition to behave in a certain way. So, someone with the mental state of pain has the disposition to wince, even if they actually don’t. It also recognises that a complete analytic reduction is impossible because there is an infinite amount of behaviours that are equal to each possible mental state. Instead of putting these propositions about mental states into the language of physics, Ryle uses ordinary language.
Explain Ryle’s claim that substance dualism makes a category mistake
To make a category mistake is to put a concept into a category in which it doesn’t belong. Ryle believes that substance dualists are making a categorical mistake when they say that the mind is an entity which exists in addition to physical entities. For example, let’s say someone wants to know what Oxford University is, and so you show them all the buildings and lecture theatres etc. After, the person asks ‘so you’ve shown me all of that, but what actually is Oxford University?’. There is no one single thing that you can point to that is Oxford University. Is it the intelligent people, the classrooms or the courses that make it what it is? Similarly, the mind is not one single thing, but rather is to have a body that is made of behavioural dispositions.
What is mind-brain type identity theory
All types of mental states are identical to all types of physical brain states. This means that the theory is physicalist. The theory is an ontological claim because while a mental state is reducible to a brain state, they are not analytic/synonymous because the concept of a mental state is not equal to the concept of a brain state (like how stress is reducible to cortisol but the concept of stress is not the same as the concept of cortisol).
What is folk psychology
Folk psychology is a theory of the mind that consist of the everyday psychological concepts and explanations of behaviour that we use to predict and understand people’s actions. For example, if someone went to get a drink of water you might assume it was because they were thirsty. Folk psychology is an integral part of people’s everyday language, and is not taught through specialist education. It is importantly distinct from scientific understanding of psychology and the mind.
What is eliminative materialism
Eliminative materialism believes that some mental states that exist according to folk psychology do not actually exist because they are a fundamentally flawed concept (like how believing that calorific fluid explains the concept of heat energy transfer). It is important to note that elimination is not the same as reduction. We reduce water to H2O because the concept of water matches with the science of H2O. Eliminative materialists believe that in the future, neuroscience will disprove some of the concepts about the mind that we have accepted due to folk psychology - because folk psychology is not entirely true.
What is functionalism
Functionalism is a theory of the mind that believes that all mental states are functional roles, meaning that it is specified in terms of what it is caused by (such as bodily damage) and then what it causes (such as wincing), rather than what it is made from. Therefore all mental states can be multiply realised, because anything (whether that be an animal or a robot) can have that mental state so long as it can perform that function.
