Philosophy of Neuroscience- Introspection

Introspection

to access ones own mental states and/or processes DIRECTLY

What can one introspect?

beliefs, desires, decisions, emotional states, and causes of behavior

Mental State

your standard mental entities such as perceptions, thoughts, emotions, and feelings

Mental processes

Causation between mental states (the thought of something making you sad- the verb)

What does introspection question?

What kinds of mental states and processes can we access, and with what degree of accuracy?

Why is introspection important?

for relationships and accountability, and also whether or not we can use introspective reports as accurate data (scope vs reliability)

Introspective transparency

Widespread, reliable access to one’s own metal states and processes

Introspective opacity

Very limited/ no access to ones own mental states/ processes (theory of mind)

Theory of Mind

Uses inferring to access mental states and processes

Process Opacity

We have little or no direct access to the causal processes connecting our mental states

What does the pantyhose study support

Process opacity

State Opacity

We have limited or no direct access to at least some of our own mental states

What experiment(s) support belief opacity?

The essay experiment, the handwriting experiment, and the head-nodding experiment.

Belief Opacity is a type of

State opacity

An outsider with the same amount of information on the subject would come to what conclusion?

Essentially the same as the subject themselves.

What is the flaw of Belief opacity?

It tends to show how strongly someone believes in something, not what they believe.

What did Nisbett and Wilson say?

Subjects are a. unaware of the existence of a stimulus that importantly influenced a response b. unaware of the existence of the response and c. unaware that the stimulus has affected the response.