Mind And Body Flashcards
(18 cards)
Essay Structure
Philosophical issue, metaphysical and existential implications, Thesis statement.
Position 1: Physicalism, implications, JJC Smart. Occam’s Razor. Limitations of Occam’s Razor. Gilbert Ryle — category mistake (ghost in a machine). FMRI machines, brain scans.
Position 2: Cartesian dualism, Descartes, 3 waves of doubt,“cogito ergo sum”, 3 arguments for Cartesian dualism, (argument from doubt, argument from conceivability, argument from divisibility). Leibniz rule. Thomas Nagel, Qualia (what it is like to be a bat). Frank Jackson “Mary’s room”. Limitations.
Conclusion, compare and contrast, why Mary’s room thought experiment seals the deal for me.
Philosophical Issue
Are the mind and body separate?
Implications
Ethical: Mind and body being separate — people are morally responsible for the actions that they commit. Converse for physicalism, since physicalism suggests that we are governed by the brain — which means that if the brain follows natural laws, then there’s no free will, hence we are not morally responsible for our actions.
Afterlife: The mind and body being separate suggests the existence of afterlife.
Existential: More prone to make us lose purpose in life — Dualism creates a split between what we are and what we experience.
Physicalism
Philosophical position which are argues that the mind and body are the same entity; what we call “mind” is actually a function of the brain.
JJC Smart
His contributions to Mind-Brain type Identity theory explore how so-called mental sensations (for example pain) were actually physical states (e.g. firing of nociceptors). He felt that this could be proven using Occam’s Razor
Occam’s Razor
A problem solving principle that recommends searching for the simplest explanations (constructed with the smallest amount of elements).
1) Brain causes mind.
2) Mind causes Brain.
3) Brain and Mind are the same thing.
Third option is favorable because it is the simplest — only one entity rather than two.
Limitations to Occam’s Razor
It should only serve as a general guide towards problem solving; it shouldn’t be used as a definite tool to rule out other possibilities. Occam’s Razor can’t prove that the brain and mind are the same thing, therefore the validity of this claim is very limited.
Gilbert Ryle
He argued that the mind and body are the same entity, otherwise there would be a “category mistake” — how can an immaterial substance interact with a material substance? This situation is analogous to a “ghost in a machine”.
FMRI and brain Scans
Contemporary neuroscientific developments are able to use fMRI machines to help psychologists explain a number of things that have been previously associated with the immaterial mind — it can tell whether a person is having depressive thoughts; by analysing brain scans, a computer system can edit together crude reconstructions of movie clips you’ve watched.
Limitations to fMRI scans
It is possible to tell someone is happy, but it is not possible to experience that happiness through the MRI scans. This notion is going to be explored further in the next paragraph.
Cartesian Dualism
The philosophical position that argues the mind and body are separate entities.
Rene Descartes
Three waves of doubt which demonstrated why the physical world should be doubted:
1) Perceptual illusion.
2) The dream problem.
3) A deceiving god.
As a result of this, he put forward “cogito ergo sum”; which argues that the very act of thinking is proof of one’s existence. He can doubt everything around him but he cannot doubt the fact that he is thinking.
2 arguments for Cartesian Dualism
1) Argument from doubt: body is dubitable, his mind is indubitable; Leibniz’s rule.
2) Argument from Divisibility — It s possible to chop up a body but it is not possible to chop up a thought; Leibniz’s rule.
Leibniz’s rule
Two things are identical if they share all properties.
Thomas Nagel
He used the concept of qualia (subjective character of experience), in his book “what it is like to be a bat”. He argues that even if we know all physical facts about the bat’s use of sonar, we still cannot know what the experience of being a bat actually is.
Frank Jackson
Mary’s room thought experiment, when Mary finally sees colour, if you believe that she learns something new, despite having all the physical information about the colour red. Then you must believe that there’s more to experience than physical information.
Limitations to Leibniz’s law
Our language often reflects different aspects of the world and allows for the same thing to be described in various ways, a fact which undermines Leibniz’s law — which is the foundation for Descartes argument.
Compare and Contrast, conclusion
Compare and Contrast, explain why I believe that in Mary’s room thought experiment, I believe that she learns something new. Explore the implications, Cartesian dualism is more plausible due to the ethical implications.
