Dualism Flashcards
Property Dualism
The belief that mental properties are distinct from and irreducible to physical properties, even if properties of both kinds may be possessed by the same thing, such as the human brain.
Substance Dualism
Substance dualism claims that the mind (soul) is a separate identity than the physical human being that will live on past their deterioration
Analogy of Property Dualism
The relationship between hardware and software of a computer. Hardware represents the physical brain, as software is the mental states / properties. They work together, but have different properties.
Qualia
The subjective aspects of our conscious experiences such as taste or pain.
Intentionality
Our mental states are always pointing to something else outside of it. For example the word ‘dog’ points to an actual dog.
Frank Jackson Thought Experiment
In “Mary’s Room,” a philosophical scenario explores the limits of physical knowledge and subjective experience. Mary, a brilliant neuroscientist, has never experienced colour, despite her extensive knowledge. The thought experiment suggests that once Mary leaves the room and sees colour, she will gain new knowledge and insights about colour, highlighting the limitations of physical knowledge.
Hard Problem of Quale
The challenge of explaining subjective experiences / qualia from a purely scientific standpoint. It is difficult to understand how physical processes in the brain can give rise to the rich range of subjective experience we have.
Problem of Other Minds
We can only directly experience our thoughts and feelings. This makes it challenging to determine if others possess the same kind of subjective awareness or have minds at all.
The Mind-Body Problem
An argument of interaction. How can the non-physical mind interact with the physical soul? They seem incompatible.
