Lecture 6 (The mind-body problem today)

Question 1

what is descartes’ substance dualism

Answer 1

the mind and body are made of separate things

Question 2

what do epiphenomenalists state about the mind-body problem

Answer 2

bodily states can cause mental states but not not vice versa

Question 3

what is leibniz’ parallelism solution to the mind-body problem

Answer 3

mental and physical states cause each other but are separate processes

mind and brain do not interact directly, they live parallel lives

this is caused by god

Question 4

what are the 3 main arguments for the mind-body problem

Answer 4

idealists - only mental stuff exists

materialists - only physical stuff exists

neutral monists - single substance exists that has properties of mental and physical

Question 5

what is methodological behaviourism

Answer 5

scientific psychology should focus on observable behaviour

Question 6

what is philosophical behaviourism

Answer 6

mental states are statements about the behaviour of the mind

treating them as separate is a category mistake

Question 7

why is philosophical behaviourism an incomplete view

Answer 7

we do not act upon every impulse, therefore there’s some missing explanation

Question 8

what are some philosophical behaviourism critiques

Answer 8

we’re required to deny our own mental states and experience

Question 9

what is epiphenomenalism

Answer 9

a view stating that humans and animals reflexively respond to stimuli

Question 10

what does epiphenomenalism state about emotion

Answer 10

caused by neurochemicals in the brain

Question 11

what are arguments for and against epiphenomenalism

Answer 11

for - reactions don’t require conscious thought

against - if the mind serves no purpose, why did it evolve

Question 12

what is panpsychism

Answer 12

everything has mental properties and the mind is a non-physical property of matter

Question 13

what does panpsychism say about emotion

Answer 13

consciousness is a fundamental property of the universe

emotions are a fundamental property of consciousness

Question 14

what are arguments for and against panpsychism

Answer 14

for - nagel argued that the mind is real, everything is matter, mind cannit be reduced to physical states, therefore mind does not emerge from physical states

-against - no evidence for it as it isn’t even a proper theory yet

Question 15

what is the emergent / non-reductive materialism view

Answer 15

all mental states are caused by physical states and the mind is dependent on, but not reductible to, the body

Question 16

what does the emergent view say about emotions

Answer 16

they’re caused by physiological and neurochemical reactions within the brain

emotion is a property of complex brain interactions

Question 17

what are arguments for and against the emergent view

Answer 17

for - physical properties can be described on multiple levels

against - if mental states cause physical states, they are inherently physical too

Question 18

what is the type-identity theory

Answer 18

the mind and brain are the same, therefore mental and physical states are the same

to say “i am in pain” would be to say “the unmyelinated c-fibers in the brain are being stimulated”

Question 19

what does type-identity theory say about emotion

Answer 19

there is a direct one-to-one between emotion and brain states

Question 20

what are arguments for and against type-identity theory

Answer 20

for - developments in neuroscience show physical and mental states are the same

against - saying brain and mind are the same implies that different brains should not produce different states

Question 21

what is functionalism

Answer 21

mental states do not have to be brain states

we can do psychology without fully understanding the function of the brain

Question 22

what does functionalism say about emotion

Answer 22

emotions are:

functional states that serve a specific purpose

there are multiple paths to achieve the same emotion

emotions have a positive adaptive purpose

Question 23

what are arguments for and against functionalism

Answer 23

for - accepts that mental states exist, have causal roles and arise in different ways

against - functionalism ignores intentionality

Question 24

what is eliminatiev materialism

Answer 24

an approach that aims to remove mentalist terms

folk psychology is prescientific, therefore we use the wrong concepts to describe mind and body

Question 25

what does eliminative materialism say about emotion

Answer 25

emotions are folk psychological categories that are not meaningful / useful

everything is a result of a process we don’t understand yet

Question 26

what are arguments for and against eliminative materialism

Answer 26

for - throughout history there have been examples of this (heat is just mean kinetic energy)

against - logic states that eliminative materialism is a belief, beliefs are mental stalest, therefore either mental states or eliminative materialism exist