Reductive Materialism

What are 3 synonyms for Reductive materialism?

• Identity theory

• Type Physicalism

• Monism

What is the meaning of reductive materialism?

The mind is not distinct from the physical brain but identical with it

What can be classified into different types?

Mental states

What are 4 examples of the types that the mental states can be classified into?

• Memory

• Pain

• Happiness

• Desire

What can these different types of mental states correspond to?

activities in different parts of the brain

What does reductive materialism say about physical material?

A person is purely material

What was Gilbert Ryle’s theory?

The concept of mind

When was Gilbert Ryle’s first theory created?

1949

What is the concept of the mind theory?

Talkin to a self/ soul beyond the physical body is a mistake in the way that we use language

What is Ryle’s theory of the Ghost in the machine?

Represents dualism as physical machines are being operated by some kind of invisible mind

What is a category mistake?

Treating the mind and body as 2 different things of a similar logical kind. They are not actually in the same logical kind.

What do Ryle’s ideas align with?

Scientifically proven knowledge

What did Dawkins oppose?

Religion

What 3 things did Dawkins support?

• Atheism

• Darwinism

• Secular humanism

Was Dawkins a materialist?

Yes

What does Dawkins being a materialist mean?

No soul, no God, no afterlife, science can explain everything

How many souls does Dawkins believe we have?

2

What is Dawkins’ soul 1?

The soul is distinctive, supernatural part of a person, capable of knowing God and of survive death.

Which idea of the Soul does Dawkins resist?

Soul 1

What type of view is soul 2 based on?

Aristotle’s views

What does soul 2 refer to?

Personality and individuality, they have a life and are motivated to make choices as there is no idea that humans have connection with anything divine or supernatural

Which soul does Dawkins accept?

Soul 2

What is a quote from The Selfish Gene?

‘Survival machines got bigger and more elaborate…Now they go by the name of genes and we are their survival machines

What does the quote from the selfish gene mean?

We are just a way for our genes to reproduce

What is a quote that shows science and evolution explain everything - by Richard Dimbleby in 1996

“Let us not go back to the dark age of superstition and unreason, a world in which every time you lose your keys you suspect poltergeists, demons or alien abduction”