w6: Mind and Body Problem Flashcards
Hylemorphism
an Aristotelian concept positing that all physical entities consist of two inseparable principles: matter (hyle) and form (morphe)
matter: the substance or potentiality that consistitutes th physcial existence of an object
form: the actuality or organising principle that gives matter its structure and purpose
relation to psychology:
- aristotle applied hylemorphism to explain the unity of body and the soul. The soul (form) organises the body (matter), making it a living being.
Moism
The philosophical stance that reality is fundementally composed of a single subsrance or principle.
forms of moism:
- materialism (Julien Offray de la Mettrie)
- Idealism (George Berkeley)
Materialism (Julien Offray de La Mettrie)
hold that matter is the fundemental substance of reality,
the mind and consciousness are seen are emergent properties of physical processes in the brain.
ie. ‘man as a machine’ posits that human beings are entierly physical entities
Idealism (George Berkeley)
claims that mind and ideas are the fundermental substances of reality.
physical objects are seen as existing only as perceptions within minds (esse est percipi- to be is to be perceived’
ie. Berkley argues that the material world has no independent existence outside perception
how materialism and idealims fit into monism
both reject dualism which posits two distinct substances
(mind and body)
adopt a monistic framework by asserting that everything reduces to one category of being, either matterm or mind/ideas
Dualism
the view that mind and body are distinct, separate substances that interact in complex ways.
Aristotle Dualism
proposed hylomorphic theory
viewed the sould and body as interdepended, rejecting strict dualism.
key points:
1. the soul as the form of the body- not separate but organising principle
- different types of souls- based on capabilities of living (vegetative soul- plants growth and reproduction, sensitive soul- animals sensation and movement, rational soul- humans, reasoning and intellect)
- interdependence of soul and body
- the soul cannot exhist without body bc it is the actualisation of the sould.
Descarte’s Cartesian Dualism
posits that mind and body are fundementally different substances.
-
mind and body as separate substances:
- mind (res cogitans): a thinking, non physical substance capable of thought.
- body (res extensa): physical, extended substance that occupies space and follows laws of physics - interactionism
- belives that mind and body interact to produce experiences
- suggested this occurs via pineal glad, ‘seat of the soul’ where mental decisions influence body and vice versa. - radical separation of mid and body
- ‘i think therefore i am’ underscores independednce of the mind. even if all sensory experience is doubted, the act of doubting confirms the thinkers existence.
Psychophysical Parallelism - Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
a dualist theory stating that mind and body operate in parallel without direct interaction but in harmony.
key features:
1. **non-interaction: **unlinke cartesian dualism. parallelism denies direct interaction but occur simultaneously but independently.
- pre-established harmony: Leibniz Analogy- two syncronised clocks set in motion by god.
- eliminates need to explain how mind and body comunicate. - dualism w/o interaction: retains dualist stance that mental and physical are fundementally different entities.
- the mental realm involves thought, perception, and emotions.
- the physicsl realm includes matter and process in body
parallelism avoids interaction problem
Occasionalism
Nicolas Malebranche
the belief that mind and body do not interact directly, instead, god mediates their interactions
key features:
1. no direct interaction
2. divine mediation- god acts as intermediary
3. constant dependence on god- every instance of interaction is a result of divine intervention
mind and body vs occasionalism
- rejects cartesian interactionism
- god as the bridge
- radical dependence
theory pre-established harmony
Gottfried Wilheilm Leibnizz
refinement of psychophysical parallelism
asserting that god set up a pre-ordained harmony b.w mind and body
key features:
- no direct interaction
- divine pre-ordination - argued at moment of creating, god perfectly synchronised mind/body
- clock analogy- compared mind/body to two clocks, each operates independently governed by its own mechanisms.
have no causal interference but always ‘agree’ bc they were calibrated to do so - monads and harmony
leibniz’s metaphysica inroduces monads, simple, indivisible, non-material substances that make up reality.
- monads do not interact but are coordinated by god’s design
Double-Aspect Theory
Gustav Fechner
the idea that the mind and body are two aspects of the same substance.
- proposed that physical and mental phenomena are inseparable perspectives of a single reality
key features:
1. single substance, dual perspective- mind/body not different entitites but different aspects of unified substance/ reality
- inseparablity: mental and physical are two complementary ways of understanding same phenomenon
- neither can be fully explained in isolation- inherently connected - neutral monism- Fechner theory aligns w Spinozza’s philosophy- proposed mind/body are attributes of single substance. where underlying substance is neither purely mental not purely phyical
Epiphenomenalism
monistic theory
- posits that mental states are by-products of physical processes in brain.
key fetures:
- causal direction
- mind as by-product
- non-causal consciousness
Behaviourism
B.F Skinner
a materialist approach that focuses soley on observable behaviours and their relationship w environement. rejecting introspection and the study of consciousness as unscientific.
B.F SKINNER- considr mind-states to be reducible to nerurophysicsal processes
key features:
- focus on observable behaviour
- environmental determinism- behaviour as response to environemtnal stimuli
- materialist foundation- mental phenomena = brain nervous system
Cartesianism
philosophical framewok rooted in Descartes, particularly substance dualism
posited that the mind and body are fundamentally distinct entities that interact to form human experience.
