reductive materialism

materialism: form of philosophical monism

• holds that matter is the fundamental substance in nature

• all phenomena inc. mental phenomena and consciousness are results of material interactions

• closely related to physicalism - view that all that exists is ultimately physical

gilbert ryle: ‘ghost in the machine’

• British philosopher Gilbert Ryle’s description of Descartes’ mind-body dualism = ‘the ghost in the machine’

  • Ryle argues that Descartes' view of the mind and body as separate entities, with the mind as an immaterial "ghost" controlling the physical "machine" of the body, is fundamentally flawed. Ryle contends that this dualism leads to a category mistake by treating mental and physical phenomena as belonging to different ontological categories. Instead, he suggests that mental processes are not separate from physical processes but are an integral part of them, and there is no need to posit a separate "ghost" to explain human behaviour. Ryle's analogy aims to challenge the dualistic perspective and promote a more unified understanding of human experience.

• “it is a category mistake to treat the body and the mind as if they are different things of a similar logical kind. They are not in fact even in the same logical category.”

richard dawkins: modern materialism:

• Dawkins: Materialist, views humans as digital information.

• No belief in soul; humans are the result of genes.

• Emphasis on humans as carriers of information and DNA.

• Focus on consciousness, not the soul.