explanation

Question 1

explanandum

Answer 1

deascribes a phenomenon that needs to be explained

Why is there smoke? …

Question 2

explanans

Answer 2

the explanation for the phenomenon

…. because there was a fire

Question 3

What is the main claim of eliminative or “radical” materialism? (eliminativsm)

Answer 3

(materialism is a subset of monism, basically the same… I tink)

Mental state vocabulary should be eliminated because folk psychology (which includes mental state vocab) is a bad scientific theory

Question 4

eliminativsm more explained

Answer 4

 things like belief and desire are like demonic possession
there is no such thing as belief and desire, unless neuroscience says so—and if neuroscience says so, then it’s physical in some way
 displaced, rather than reduced
 even more radical than reductionism
 The central argument:
P1) Folk psychology is a theory
P2) FP is a bad theory compared to neuroscience.
P3) Between two competing theories, we ought to prefer the best one.
C1) We ought to prefer neuroscience to folk-psychology.

BUT to make this argument make more sense there should be the premise that FP is competing with neuroscience.

They are materialists nevertheless and only believe that the brain exists… nothing “spooky” beyond that

Question 5

what is the principle of causal closure?

Answer 5

Everything that has a cause has a physical cause

Explanations for physical events have to refer to
other physical events – not to events related to
angels, UFOs, or miracles (monism, physicalsm)