Problem 2: the ghost in the machine

Question 1

dualism

Answer 1

-mind and body are separate
-they can exist together, but possibly could also exist separately

Question 2

substance dualism

Answer 2

-body and mind exist separately, they are different substances

Question 3

interactionist substance dualism

Answer 3

-mind and body are separate substances but they can interact (e.g., too much alcohol in the body, the mind gets confused)

Question 4

pairing problem

Answer 4

if the body and mind are independent, how are they paired?

Question 5

property dualism

Answer 5

-solves the pairing problem: there is one substance that has two properties, the non-physical and the physical

Question 6

physical property dualism

Answer 6

the mind is physical as well as the body, the mind is the relevant part of the brain, that provides interaction

Question 7

parallelism

Answer 7

mind and body are separate but do not interact, however they do correlate.
there is a relationship, but not a causal one

Question 8

Leibniz on the synchronisation in parallelism

Answer 8

god predetermines everything to be in sync with each other, including the mind and the body, but god does not actively intervene - it set everything up in the beginning

Question 9

occasionalism

Answer 9

god is responsible for the synchronisation in parallelism, god actively intervenes

Question 10

conservation laws

Answer 10

the conservation of mass and energy is a closed system, in which the total mass and energy stay the same over time. they do not interact because they are closed systems, they cannot accept energy from each other

Question 11

epiphenomenalism + criticism

Answer 11

mental events and the mind are epiphenomena –> physical events can cause the mental, but not vice versa
(criticism: does not solve the mind body problem, because it doesn’t explain how the physical influences the mental & why this one sided relationship?)

Question 12

emergentism + criticism

Answer 12

-physical is dominant over the mental
-the mind supervenes (oversees) the body, but they do not interact
-criticism: vague, contradictory, does not explain underlying mechanisms

Question 13

physicalism

Answer 13

-everything is physical, therefore, the pairing problem is solved

Question 14

behaviourism

Answer 14

the mind is behaviour, the mental is also behaviour
-hard core: there is no mind, only behaviour
-you should only observe what you can observe directly and from there deduce that the mind is
-mind is not important, focus on behaviour

Question 15

absent qualia

Answer 15

-problem in behaviourism
-qualia are the experiences that make up our consciousness

Question 16

token identity theory

Answer 16

type: pain
token: specific pain that you feel somewhere in your body

Question 17

multiple realisability thesis

Answer 17

a single mental state can be realised in several different ways

Question 18

functionalism + criticism

Answer 18

-mental state are functional states caused by the body: the body is a kind of computer
-focus should be on the function of the mind, not what it is
-criticism: absent qualia (there are no qualia)

Question 19

eliminativism

Answer 19

-eliminates mental concepts/ideas
-there is no mind
-there are no non-physical things

Question 20

idealism

Answer 20

-everything is mental, an illusion

Question 21

phenomenalism

Answer 21

all knowledge can be based on sensory perceptions, but therefore it can also all be wrong

Question 22

double aspect theory + criticism

Answer 22

-there is only one substance, but it can be seen in two opposite ways:
an extension of linear dimensions (body) or of thoughts (mind), but there is no interaction = two sides of the same coin
-criticism: not detailed enough, does not explain how the world works in practice

Question 23

criticism on descartes by Ryle

Answer 23

category mistake: mind and body are not the same category (university example), even though descartes tries to apply his dualist view