Mind-body Problem I

What is the fundamental question of the mind-body problem?

The relationship between the mind and the body.

What is dualism in philosophy of mind?

The belief that the mind and body are two distinct substances.

What is interactionist substance dualism?

The idea that the mind and body are separate substances that can causally interact. From Rene Descartes.

What is epiphenomenalism?

The view that physical events cause mental events, but mental events do not affect physical events.

What is substance dualism?

The belief that the mind is a nonphysical substance, while the body is a physical substance.

What is the "Indiscernibility of Identicals" principle?

If A and B are identical, then anything true of A must also be true of B. From Rene Descartes.

What was Descartes' argument for dualism?

The mind is unextended and indivisible, while the body is extended and divisible, so they must be distinct.

What is the "Contact Problem" raised by Princess Elisabeth?

She questioned how an immaterial mind could interact with a physical body.

What is the principle of physical causal completeness?

Every physical event has a sufficient physical cause. Energy cannot be created or destroyed and the universe is an isolated system.

How does the principle of physical causal completeness challenge interactionist dualism?

If the physical world is a closed system, the mind cannot add new energy or influence physical events.

What does epiphenomenalism claim about the mind?

The mind exists but does not cause behavior

What analogy is used to explain epiphenomenalism?

A gunshot creates both a bullet hole and a loud bang, but the bang does not cause the hole.

What are the problems with epiphenomenalism?

It struggles to explain consciousness and human agency.

What is monism?

The view that only one kind of substance exists.

What is materialism/physicalism?

The belief that mental states are brain states.

What is idealism?

The belief that only mental states exist and there are no physical substances.

What do type-identity/mind-brain theorists believe?

The mind and brain are the same, so when the brain dies so does the mind. Mental states are identical to brain states (e.g., pain is c-fiber stimulation).

What two points do type identity theorists argue?

1. The simplicity argument → someone on drugs will behave differently so you will think differently too.

2. Mind-brain correlation → if a mental state such as fear occurs, there is a correlated brain state such as neural activity in the amygdala.

What is token-identity theory?

Every particular instance (or “token”) of a mental state is identical to specific physical state of the brain — but it doesn’t claim that all instances of the same mental state type correspond to the same physical state type. From Fodor

What is multiple realizability?

A mental state is able to be the same between different people and species even if the brain state itself is not the same. Mental states are not identical to brain states.

How does multiple realizability combat type-identity theory?

It states that many different species can have the same feeling of hunger but their neural processes aren’t the same, so their minds are not identical to the physical brain.

What is Ockham’s Razor?

The principle that the simplest explanation should be preferred.

How does Ockham’s Razor support identity theory?

It avoids positing both a mind and a brain when one (the brain) can explain everything.

What is Jerry Fodor's objection to identity theory?

Pain can exist in different beings without c-fiber stimulation (e.g., octopi with y-fiber stimulation).