Metaphysics of mind

Question 1

What is substance dualism?

Answer 1

The view that the world is made up of the physical and non-physical substances

Question 2

What is Descartes’ indivisibility argument for substance dualism?

Answer 2

That the mental is indivisible and the physical is divisible, so they are not the same

Question 3

What is Descartes’ conceivability argument for substance dualism?

Answer 3

That I can conceive of a world where my mind exists without my physical body, and they therefore must be distinct (mental = non-physical)

Question 4

What is property dualism?

Answer 4

The view that there are two distinct types of property: physical properties and non-physical mental properties

Question 5

What is the philosophical zombie argument for property dualism?

Answer 5

I can conceive of a world physically the same as this one, but without the mental, therefore the mental is not physical.

Question 6

What is the Mary/knowledge argument for property dualism?

Answer 6

Mary has propositional knowledge of all physical facts, but after seeing red for the first time she gains propositional knowledge, therefore there are some facts that are non-physical, and non-physical facts must be about non-physical properties so there are some non-physical properties.

Question 7

What is interactionist dualism?

Answer 7

The view that the non-physical mind causes things to happen to the physical body (vice versa). Thy interact with and impact each other.

Question 8

What is epiphenomenalist dualism?

Answer 8

The view that the non-physical mental is caused by the physical, but doesn’t cause anything (physical)