Lecture 1: Intro to the Mind-Body Problem

Question 1

TWM’s vs non-TWM’s

Answer 1

• Both can be described as physical systems
• But, we can’t fully describe TWMs with solely a physical description as we could for non-TWNs because of their distinctive features

Question 2

5 distinctive features of TWMs

Answer 2

1. Intentional states
2. Intentional explanations
3. Instrumental rationality
4. Qualitative states
5. Accountability and responsibility

Question 3

intentionality

Answer 3

• Mental states are individuated in terms of what they are about
• This has nothing to do with being on purpose or deliberate

Question 4

propositional attitudes

Answer 4

mental attitude toward a proposition

Question 5

can intentional states be about an object?

Answer 5

yes

Question 6

can intentional states be identified with physical relations between the system & an intentional object?

Answer 6

no

Question 7

indication

Answer 7

physical relation between A & B that causes A to be the way it is: A carries info about B => B has to exist

Question 8

do the intentional objects of mental states need to exist?

Answer 8

no

Question 9

intentional explanation

Answer 9

Explain & predict the behaviour of TWMs by reference to the intentional states ascribed to them

Question 10

goal of intentional states ascription

Answer 10

explanatory & predictive

Question 11

instrumental rationality

Answer 11

Intentional explanations & predictions assume the rationality of individuals

Question 12

instrumental rationality and intentional states

Answer 12

It only makes sense to ascribe intentional states if we are prepared to ascribe instrumental rationality (because the end goal is only achievable with instrumental rationality)

Question 13

does instrumental rationality require that mental states be rational?

Answer 13

no

Question 14

qualitative states

Answer 14

states that have some experienced quality

Question 15

what is self-consciousness according to Kant?

Answer 15

requires being able to think about internal states (not just a stream of internal states but also the capacity to unify that stream)

Question 16

stream/train of consciousness/thought

Answer 16

unified by connecting states with other states

Question 17

what is self-consciousness according to Husserl?

Answer 17

retention & protection

Question 18

what is the basis for intentional states?

Answer 18

the ability to conceptualize one’s experience

Question 19

accountability and responsibility

Answer 19

• Hold humans accountable morally & legally for their actions
• Linked to the idea that humans can act freely based on their mental states, they choose to act one way rather than another

Question 20

what does responsibility require?

Answer 20

• Relevant beliefs
• Awareness of what one is doing
• Acting freely

Question 21

do accountability and responsibility apply to all TWM’s?

Answer 21

no, we don’t hold animals responsible because according to Descartes, they are biological machines that lack free will & perhaps lack mental states too

Question 22

beliefs

Answer 22

are intentional, but not qualitative

Question 23

sensations

Answer 23

are qualitative, but not intentional

Question 24

emotions

Answer 24

are both intentional & qualitative

Question 25

perceptions

Answer 25

are intentional & qualitative dimensions, but what is of interest is their qualitative dimension

Question 26

knowledge of TWM’s

Answer 26

TWM have immediate & certain knowledge of their qualitative mental states

Question 27

qualitative vs. intentional states

Answer 27

Qualitative states require intentional states. Because requires self-consciousness which requires registrations of the world & body taken as yours and as representations of external reality

Question 28

other minds problem

Answer 28

Do entities with intelligence but no qualitative states have minds?

Question 29

solutions to the other minds problem

Answer 29

monism & dualism

Question 30

monism

Answer 30

The difference is a purely physical difference, which explains the distinctive properties and capacities of twm’s (MIND=BRAIN)

Question 31

physical difference

Answer 31

a difference in either the psycho-chemical composition organization

Question 32

physicochemical composition

Answer 32

the kind of physical stuff of which something is composed

Question 33

organization

Answer 33

the way the physical stuff is put together

Question 34

objections to monism

Answer 34

• Many lower animals have brains but it isn’t clear if they have minds
• We have no explanation, as yet, why having a brain, which is just one more physical feature of an entity should provide a physical system with the kinds of capacities we ascribe to TWMs

Question 35

more sophisticated monist argument

Answer 35

TWMs differ from other physical systems in their biochemical and organizational complexity

Question 36

Cartesian Dualism

Answer 36

• no amount of complexity in a physical system whose operations are completely describable in physicochemical terms can account for the sorts of capacities we ascribe to TWMs
• TWMs are composite entities, composed of a physical body, whose operations are described and explicable in terms of the same physical laws that govern other things in the universe. This body is responsible for those properties TWMs share with other things