Mind and Body: Reaductive Accounts of the Mind: Eliminative Materialism

Question 1

eliminative materialism

Answer 1

• not a reductive theory however one feature of reductive theories which it does reserve is that they preserve the reality of what is being reduced.
• aim: eliminate/reject rather than preserve our conception of mentality. Replaces theories about mental states with better theories which do not refer to mental states at all.
• they do not believe they exist
• they believe folk psychology will be entirely replaced once science is sufficient.

Question 2

what does Churchland think?

Answer 2

he believes folk psychology fails because:
it is made up of law like generalisations eg Charlotte has the desire to run the London marathon and a belief that jogging will help then Charlotte will jog. and specific theoretical concepts eg belief which is assigned certain properties. The combination of the belief and desire led her to jog.
-lacks explanatory power as it either says nothing or is flawed when talking about mental states. Nero-since doesn’t have that problem.
-its stagnate no development alongside understanding
-no room for science or something beyond the personal
-too complex

Question 3

eliminative materialism is counter-intutive

Answer 3

-want is persuasive about dualism is that even though we may question our knowledge we are sure that we are minded. Thus a thesis which contradicts this and suggests our common sense understanding of the fact that we are minded is wrong doesn’t sit right. Need evidence that we don’t have subjective qualitative experiences

Question 4

eliminative materialism is self refuting

Answer 4

-we need to assume the existence of mental phenomena in order to advance the cause of eliminative materialism? So self-refuting. By attacking other theories it assumes the existence of what it is denying.
similarly we cannot know if it is true because knowledge is a justified true belief and according to some eliminative materialists there is not such thing as a belief.
can’t put it forward as a theory either

Question 5

is folk psychology a theory?

Answer 5

-it is not clear that either folk psychology is a pre-scientific theoretical account of social action nor that its explanations can be holy replaced by neurosciences.
Searle: Charlotte walks past a man who is a sexist dick and she doesn’t respond-she is not entertaining a law-like theoretical proposal but has merely learnt to cope with such behaviour.
reaction doesn’t necessarily any kind of theoretical approach to the mind

Question 6

is folk psychology as hopeless as eliminative materialists suggest?

Answer 6

• successfully accounts for everyday communication

- replacing with science isn’t necessarily the answer.