Functionalism (Mind) Flashcards
Functionalism definition of mind + mental states
Mind: Something that is able to receive inputs, compute them, and create an output.
Mental states: To define a mental states functionally is to define it in terms of it’s role it plays when in association with environmental stimuli (taken in via the senses), other mental states and outputs (behaviour).
eg - pain is a mental state, caused my damage to the body (environment stimuli), which causes other mental states (such as anxiety and the desire to get rid of the pain), which produces pain behaviour.
Functionalism def
Functionalism identifies mental states in terms of functional roles.
e.g. the heart is best identified by its functional role. “The heart is the organ that pumps blood around the body”.
The specifics of its design or what’s its made of is not relevant to this definition.
Functionalism Essay Plan
P1. Intent, Definition
P2. Strength of functionalism
- Compatible with physicalism/Dualism
- Allows for multiple realisability
- Coherent with science
P2.1 Objection: Qualia - Knowledge argument (Mary’s colour room)
P2.2 Objections to Knowledge argument
- Mary gains ability+acquaintance K
- New knowledge/old facts
P2.3 Still gains knowledge
P3. Objection: Inverted Qualia
P3.1. Defence: Inverted Qualia is not possible (Patricia Churchland)
P4. Objection: Absent Qualia
- China brain
P6. Conclusion,
Position:
Slight middle ground/For - Functionalism hasn’t been 100% proved but neither has it been disproved. Has the edge over MBIT due to Chinese room, shows it to be the better theory.
Strengths of Functionalism
- Coherent with science
- Allows for multiple realisability of mental states
- Compatible with physicalism and dualism
Knowledge/Mary Argument
Argues Mary gains Propositional knowledge.
Argument says that someone, Mary, who has never seen or experienced colour but knows all the physical and functional facts about colour (how it works in the eye etc) would learn something new when she sees it for the first time.
If she does then there must be something more to colour vision than a complete functional account.
P1. Mary knows all the physical and functional facts about colour vision.
P2. But she learns something new when she experiences colour vision herself.
C1. Therefore there is more to know about colour vision than what is given in a full functional account.
C2. So functionalism is false.
Objection to Knowledge/Mary argument + Response
Only gains acquaintance/ability K, not propositional
Response: Knowledge is still gained
Therefore argument stands against functionalism
Problem of Inverted qualia
If we all process mental states in the exact same functional roles, then me and you seeing red as a different colour (my red = your blue) would be impossible.
However, it’s conceivable that this can happen, showing how functionalism cannot account for qualia.
Functionalist Response: Inverted Qualia is not possible
There is not empirical evidence from science that tells us that identical brain function gives rise to different conscious experience.
Basically, there is no scientific evidence of inverted qualia.
Therefore, it is a poor hypothesis as it proposes there are empirical (scientific) differences that are empirically undetectable.
Absent Qualia: China brain
Imagine a country of 1 billion Chinese people who can communicate with each other; some receive inputs, who communicate to others through radio who process, and then to others who produce an output.
Functionalism says this is enough to be a mind.
However, there is the problem of qualia.
Each individual person has their own subjectivity and qualia, but there is no collective subjective experience (qualia) shared between everyone.
Therefore, functionalism is right that it has some parts of a brain (processing info part), but not all parts to be a complete brain (as it doesn’t have the subjective qualia parts).
