Lecture 7 - Mind-body problem

Question 1

What are four main problems, besides the interaction problem, that Cartesian dualism causes?

Answer 1

1. Pairing problem (the mind controls one body, not anothers)
2. Exclusion problem (If every physical event has a cause, how does the immaterial mind play a role in this > physical causal closure)
3. It goes against the law of conservation of enery (aka the mind necessarily needs to create + add energy to the body, which violates this law)
4. Brain damage problem (the immaterial should not be affected by ailments of the material)

Question 2

What is the “hard problem”?

Answer 2

How and why we have conscious mental states = difficult to explain without an immaterial mind

Question 3

What is belief-desire psychology?

Answer 3

That mental states (I want X) explains behaviour (I bought X)

Question 4

Eliminative materialism?

Answer 4

Mental states are not real and should not take part in science

Question 5

The lecture used an example to explain the main idea behind that of eliminative materialism, that of weeds, explain.

Answer 5

Weeds is a term used in common language to refer to plants unwanted, this however, is not a categorization used in botany as it is vague and non-scientific

Question 6

What is, generally, the identity theory?

Answer 6

Notion that mental states are brain states (aka non-eliminative materialism)

Question 7

There are two types of identity theory introduced, which are these? What other terms could be used in place for these?

Answer 7

1. type-type identity (reductive materialism)
2. token-token identity (non-reductive materialism/emergent materialism/functionalism)

Question 8

What is type-type identity?

Answer 8

Types of mental states = types of brain states, across individuals and time points (aka full reduction is possible)

Question 9

What are the three steps used in reductionism/type-type identity?

Answer 9

1. Higher order science that needs to be reduced (e.g., psychology)
2. Establish bridge laws (one-to-one coorrespondence relations between terms in higher and lower order science)
3. Show higher order follows from the laws of the reducing science (e.g., neuroscience), given the bridge laws

Question 10

What is a problem with type-type identity?

Answer 10

Mental states are often defined by their contents, which could be the same, despite differences in encoding (what the book = identity problem)

Question 11

What are three evidences against type-type identity?

Answer 11

1. Neural plasticity
2. Individual differences (brains are rather heterogeneous)
3. The same brain can encode certain thoughts/feelings differently at different time points

Question 12

What is multiple realizability and what does it relate to?

Answer 12

Mental states = brain states, but on an individual level. Relates to non-reductive materialism or token-token identity

Question 13

What is a consequence of token-token identity for type-type identity?

Answer 13

It does not allow for reductionism (because one cannot construct bridge laws)

Question 14

What is an example that can explain the basics of functionalism?

Answer 14

A fear of spiders = the function of making someone avoid spiders

Question 15

Realization vs causation (in the brain) can be explained through what example?

Answer 15

Paying 10 euros, is a function (used to buy something). It’s physical make-up is irrelevant (in the sense one can pay with coins, paper or credit) = multiple realization

Question 16

What is the idealistic view of the brain-mind?

Answer 16

Reality is in essence the mental, i.e., the material world is a creation of the mind

Question 17

What is another term for property dualism?

Answer 17

emergent materialism