Philosophy of Mind: Functionalism and Mental States

Vocabulary flashcards covering functionalism, physicalism, computational models of mind, and theories of qualia.

Functionalism

Mental states are defined by their causal-functional roles.

Causal-functional role

The role a mental state plays in causing and interacting with inputs, other mental states, and outputs.

Identity Theory

Mental states are identical to physical brain states.

Type physicalism

Mental state-types are identical to physical state-types.

Token physicalism

Individual realizations of mental states are physical.

Multiple realizability

The same mental state can be realized by different physical processes.

Rylean Functionalism

Functional roles are characterized using ordinary behavioural dispositions and mental-state relationships.

Psychofunctionali sm

Cognitive psychology determines the functional roles of mental states.

Methodological autonomy

Cognitive psychology can investigate and discover its own laws independently of neuroscience.

Functional organization (FO)

The overall organization of a system's functional components and their relationships.

Turing machine

An abstract computational device defined by inputs, outputs, internal states, and transition rules.

Machine table

A representation of a machine's possible input-state-output transitions.

Algorithm

A specified procedure for solving a problem in a finite number of steps.

Functional decomposition

Explaining complex capacities through simpler components and their coordination.

Homunculus problem

Explaining an ability by attributing that same ability to an internal component.

Qualia

The subjective qualitative character of an experience.

Inverted spectrum

The possibility that qualitative experiences are switched while functional organization remains unchanged.

Absent qualia

The possibility of reproducing functional organization without subjective experience.

China example

Block's thought experiment involving a system of one billion people reproducing a human's functional organization.

Liberalism

Attributing mental states to systems that intuitively lack them.

Chauvinism

Failing to attribute mental states to systems that intuitively have or could have them.

QPS

Qualitative physical states; physical states that are experiencings and play particular functional roles.