Mind and Body: Reductive Accounts of the Mind: Materialism

Question 1

what is materialism the same as?

Answer 1

physicalism

Question 2

what do materialists think of dualism?

Answer 2

they all believe dualism is wrong and do not believe in a “ghostly” Cartesian soul.

Question 3

what is the materialist argument?

Answer 3

humans are physico-chemical beings composed entirely of matter. They believe that everything is physical.
a posteriori: a result of a tested and confirmed empirical hypothesis
example: if I drink it impacts both mind and body-we can see the physical alterations drink makes to the way my brain function and how this impacts both my mind-my moods and my body-my ability to stand.
there is a materialist explanation of human behaviour and action.

Question 4

materialism in practise

Answer 4

mental events or phenomena are identical to certain physical processes of phenomena. Example: the mental state of believing the world is round is identical to some neural process in the brain.

Question 5

what is papineau’s example

Answer 5

2 contrasting analogies: the theory of electromagnetism and the theory of heat.
electromagnetism: the theory of an extra physical entity. The charged particles are one thing and the field they produce is something further.
but the theory of heat is not explained in the same way
heat is not something extra to the kenetic energy of moving partials . Rather, heat is just another way of referring to the the kenetic energy of of the particles in it.
There aren’t two entities-the moving partials and heat.
Same applied to brain processes and expressions of feelings
Inter-theoretic reductions.