In-depth Notes on Sellarsian Distinctions and Substance Dualism

Manifest Image of X:
Reflects everyday understanding of X.
Represents how we typically perceive the nature of X in daily life.
Example: How individuals view the concept of personhood, including emotions and experiences.
Scientific Image of X:
Based on scientific reasoning and evidence.
Incorporates objective and nomothetic approaches to understanding X.
Example: Reduction of human experiences to physical processes in the brain.

Popularity of Substance Dualism:
Historically favored due to the manifest image perspectives.
Advances in the scientific image challenge this view indicating a more materialistic understanding.
The debate between manifest and scientific image has intensified recently.

1. Argument from Apparent Difference:
P1: Mental states appear radically different from bodily states.
P2: Reliable appearances suggest a reflection of reality.
C: Therefore, mental states are fundamentally different from bodily states, supporting the idea of dualism.
2. Argument from Intentionality:
P1: The mind possesses original intentionality (the capacity of the mind to represent or be about something).
P2: No material substance has this original intentionality.
C: Thus, the mind cannot be a material substance.
3. Conceivability Argument:
P1: It is conceivable for the mind to exist independently from material substances like the brain.
P2: Conceivability tends to imply actual possibility.
C1: Hence, it is possible for the mind to exist without material substances.
P3: If C1 is true, then the mind cannot be identical to material substances.
C2: Therefore, the mind is not identical to material substances like the brain.
4. Indivisibility Argument:
P1: The mind is indivisible (cannot be broken down into parts).
P2: All material substances can be divided.
C: Therefore, the mind cannot be classified as a material substance.