week 4: fundamental debates in psychology

describe the mind-body problem

is there a mind and if so how can this coexist and interact with the body?

what two types of problem does psychology have according to chalmers?

easy problems

hard problems

what are easy problems concerned with?

how a physical system can remember etc

how is attention focussed/how is information mentally organised

we can understand this in terms of what they allow the subject to do

what are hard problems concerned with?

how a physical system can experience

humans and inanimate objects are made from the same molecules etc - how do humans then have consciousness?

what does consciousness do to an input of stimuli?

experience is more than just seeing something - this is just an input of stimuli

consciousness packages this into qualitative and subjective experience

why didn’t behaviourists engage with the concept of mind?

its intangibility

what two solutions are offered to the mind body problem?

dualism

monism

how does dualism deal with the mind body problem?

mind and body are two kinds of substance with unique essences

what properties does dualism assign to the mind?

essence = consciousness

known directly

free

indivisible

indestructible

what properties does dualism assign the body?

essence = extension

known indirectly

determined

infinitely divisible

destructible

what is all we can be sure of according to descartes?

cogito ergo sum - i think therefore i am

our senses are giving us an inaccurate account of reality so we cannot trust our perceptions and all we really know is that i am a thinking thing

why does dualism reject the idea of a physical mind?

mental states are non physical and irreducible to physical states

how do physical and mental processes interact?

via the pineal gland - master gland

what is the core mission statement of monism?

substance of only one kind exists

what are the two types of monist?

idealist monist

material monist

what do material monists believe?

only matter exists and this gives rise to mind

the mind is a manifestation of the brain’s activity therefore the mind is a material entityw

what evidence do material monists give for their beliefs?

physical events affect the mind

eg brain trauma, alcohol/drugs etc

what do idealist monists believe?

only mind exists and this gives rise to matter

what evidence do idealist monists give for their beliefs?

thoughts and feelings are not material

mental images are non physical entities with a physical mechanism sustaining them remaining undiscovered

who has the correct experience of consciousness?

it is a matter of first being experience - there is something it is like to be a bat from the inside

what does conscious experience exist of?

qualia - phenomenal properties of an object/experience

private

only experienced for yourself

what do dualists believe about qualia?

qualia are part of a separate mental worldw

what do monists believe about qualia?

everything is ultimately qualia

how does chalmers approach qualia?

zombie problem

what question does panpsychism ask?

what are its central principles?

is consciousness a fundamental property of the universe?

everything has some level of consciousness because consciousness is an evolutionary emergent property to increase chances of survival

according to panpsychism, what does consciousness require?

a living being which must be able to detect where it ends and the external world begins

according to nicholas humphrey, how does a being internalise a stimulus and produce a response?

local response (eg reflex) occurs at point of stimulation

response becomes targeted on incoming sensory nerve

response becomes privatised within the brain

define biological determinism

biology determines a person’s phenotype

can determine psychological functions to a certain extent

define socio cultural determinism

social environment/environmental factors shape people’s thoughts/actions