lecture 2 Flashcards
what does sperry and gazzaniga`s split brain findings suggest?
that brain causes mind
what is occams razor?
“law of parsimony”) is the problem-solving principle that the simplest solution tends to be the correct one. When presented with competing hypotheses to solve a problem, one should select the solution with the fewest assumptions.
What does Smart Jr. say about the correlation of sensations and brain processes propose?
that the findings does not prove materialism or cartesianism either, linguistically cartesianism is possible, but why not taking the simplest solution - referring to occams razor
Type versus token identity
The word ‘type’ means ‘class’ or ‘category’. The word ‘token’ refers to an individual object in a class or category.
why is Type-identity theory the strongest version of identity theory
every mental state of a specific type is identical with a brain state of a
specific type
multiple realization
mental states can be realized by different brain states (e.g., pain in
humans and in animals)
• also intra-individual: neural plasticity!
what is Token-identity
claims that all mental states are brain states. But it doesn’t say which
mental states are which brain states.
every token of a mental state type is identical to a token of a brain
state type
what is A problem for both versions of identity theory
lack of explanatory power: simply stating that mental states are
identical with brain states doesn’t explain anything
compare: water = H2O. Here the properties of water can be explained
in terms of its molecular structure
McGin
1991
questions:
“How could technicolor consciousness
arise from gray brain matter?”
how are Mental states defined in functionalism?
as functions or ‘causal roles’
we should not characterize mental states in terms of what they are,
but in terms of what they do
how can we characterize mental roles, states?
1) input (i.e. what causes them)
2) output (i.e. what they cause)
3) their relation to other mental states (mental holism)
functionalism combines insights from behaviorism and identity theory. What objections does it have towards each?
versus behaviorism: internal mental states exist and they do play a
causal role, but they are also related to behavior
• versus identity theory: mental states can be brain processes, but
there is no type-identity because of multiple realizability
David Chalmers’ zombie argument
functional duplicates without consciousness
• functionalism doesn’t explain why we are
conscious in the first place
philosophical behaviorism:
the mind is a label for a set of
behavioral dispositions.
talk about the mental is only meaningful insofar as we can
operationalize it in behavioral terms
problem with philosophical behviorism:
mental holism, the ‘perfect pretender’ and the ‘super
stoic’, causation between mental states, dispositions can be causal
