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This file contains all college notes for the 2nd year course Philosophy of Mind, Brain and Behaviour
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💭Philosophy of Mind, Brain and Behaviour
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Class 1
SUBSTANCE DUALISM
humans consist of two seperate substances → body and soul
preliminaries
mind = umbrella-term for all the mental states that a person can have
mental = most mental states have intentionality and/or phenomenality
1. 'intentionality' = thought vs content of the thought (eiffel tower)
2. 'phenomenal' = many mental states have a subjective experiental aspect to them / experience the mental states
two kinds of dualism
substance dualism = mind is a non-physical substance (a soul) that is causally connected to the body (humans consist
of an inmaterial soul and a material body and they are causally connected) → defended by Rene Descartes
property dualism = some properties of the mind cannot be explained in physical terms, the mind is produced by the
physical brain, but some of it's properties (phenomenal properties) are non-physical (the knowledge argument)
Philosophy of Mind, Brain and Behaviour 1
, PROBLEM: PSYCHOLOGICAL BEHAVIORISM
methodological problems with dualism → how do you research the mind if the mind is an inmaterial soul?
dualism implies introspection as the only feasible scientific methodology (nobody can check if the introspective
report is correct)
introspection is neither objective, nor intersubjective
unconscious mental states cannot be topics of scientific research
→ response = define phychology as a behavioral science
LOGICAL BEHAVIORISM
the interaction problem (pineal gland)
mind = consists of spiritual essence
body = consists of physical essence
alternative theory (most radical)
Gilbert Ryle → mind and body are depicted as puppetteer and puppet → this is wrong
we postulate the mind as a hidden locus of control in order to explain the difference between intelligent and non-
intelligent behavior but we can only do that if we already understand the difference between intelligent and non-
intelligent behavior → 'mind' is just a word for intelligent behavior - not a hidden cause of it
the concept of the mind - 1949 (Gilbert Ryle 1900 - 1967)
conceptual analysis of 'mind'
'mind' is not a thing (that is a category mistake) but a set of dispositions
mental states are behavioral dispositions (the tendency to behave a certain way under certain circumstances)
PSYCHOLOGICAL BEHAVIORISM VS LOGICAL BEHAVIORISM
both theories focus on behavior
psychological behaviorists say that we have the concept of a mind and we have behavior → forget/deny the mind and
focus on behavior
logical behaviorists do not ignore or forget the mind but define the mind. everything about logical behaviorism is about
the mind → define the mind in terms of behavior
IDENTITY THEORY
the physical dimensions of consciousness (1933) - Edwin G. Boring → book was ignored because of behaviorism
Ullin Place introduces Boring to philosophers such as J.J.C. Smart (1920 - 2012)
→ the mind is as manipulable as the brain (the mind is the brain and the brain is the mind)
Philosophy of Mind, Brain and Behaviour 2
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