PHIL 336 PART 4 RES

Bonnie

DISCUSSION QUESTION CHOICE #1:  Which Physicalist Theory of Mind? Of the physicalist theories of mind studied this week, Behaviorism, Identity-Theory, Functionalism, Monism, or Eliminativism, which one seems most plausible in solving the Mind-Body Problem? Why don't the others work? Use your knowledge of the readings, your own experiences and judgments to make your argument. Make sure to address possible objections to your reasoning. 

Functionalism is the most plausible in solving the mind-body issue. "The most obvious interpretation is that functionalism denies that the mind is a nonphysical thing, not because it takes the line that the mind is a physical thing, but because it takes the line that it is as wrong to think of the mind as a thing, as it would be to think of a computer program as just another physical thing." (Physicalist Theories of Mind, n.d.). Putman compares functionalism with the hardware and software of a computer. It takes the hardware and the software to make a computer operate or function properly. Thus, the point is that it is not the importance of the program but the functionality of the pieces working together. Putman came to reject his original argument as false. First, he was of the opinion that functionalism held physical systems, to include mental ones, which have unique computational descriptions meaning computational is not physical. He later withdrew that belief and argued that any computational description of nonphysical properties can be applied to any physical thing.  

Behaviorism does not work, because it " ... is the view that the mental is the behavioral." (Physicalists Theories of Mind) The theory is such that the mind is the body and there is not mind only behavior. In summary, behaviorism denies the mind one way or another. Behaviorism is false.

Identity-theory relates moreso to the brain. "This view ... is the claim that mind and brain ... are identical, one and the same." (Physicalists Theories of Mind). According to a paper written by U.T. Place in 1956, philosophers and scientists were persuaded that what people do and of what they experience lies in the brain. The theory that the mind is the brain is known as the "central-state" materialism. However, the central-state materialists do not claim the word "mind" means "brain" which we know it doesn't. "Central-state materialism was dead in the water." (Physicalists).

Monism could work. Donald Davidson, a philosopher, wrote a paper " ... they use mentalistic words that cannot be defined by physical terms, as well as physical events." (Physicalists). His theory was the mind was nonphysical and the body physical.

Eliminativism is the philosophy of the mind. The eliminativist say " ... there are no hopes, no fears, no beliefs, no desires ..." (Physicalists). This group admits that mental concepts and terms cannot be reduced to scientific physiological concepts. They go on to say there is no need and no room for mental terms, and statements about things are false. The eliminativist solve the mind-body problem that the mind is a nonphysical thing is false, because there is no mind. This theory is not plausible for these reasons.

References:

University of Maryland Global Campus. (n.d.). Physicalist Theories of Mind. Document posted in UMGC PHIL 336 online classroom, archived at  https://learning.umgc.edu

Eric

Eliminative materialism is the idea that everything people think about the mind from a common-sense point of view is incorrect. The idea states that the mental concepts that we are familiar with cannot be reduced to what we know about the mind scientifically. From this perspective, hopes, fears, beliefs, and desires are all part of a theory, but the theory is false. The problem with the theory is trying to solve the mind-body problem. Some people believe that the mind and body are the same thing, just two physical objects of the human body. Others believe that the mind is not a physical thing. In eliminative materialism, the mind exists completely separate from the physical being. Arguments for this idea include how much certain things have stagnated, such as math. There have been no changes to basic math since the late nineteenth century. This brings into question why other things should not stay undisturbed like math. The argument for why the psychology of the mind should be displaced is because it has not been fully explained. Adopting this mindset could affect how we live and communicate every day. Believing that the concepts of your life such as love and desire do not exist could cause someone to life a more secluded life. It puts them in a position to question more things about their life.

References

Westphal, J. (2016).  The Mind-Body Problem. https://eds-p-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.umgc.edu/eds/ebookviewer/ebook?sid=4d54a090-e4be-477b-b096-fd9ec8792306%40redis&ppid=pp_53&vid=0&format=EB