The Problem Of Separation And Dualism - 1399 Words

Non Reductive Physicalism â€Å"‘And that’, he argued, ‘means that somewhere in them is intelligence. It can’t be seated in a brain because dissection shows nothing like a brain –but that doesn’t prove there isn’t something that does a brain’s job† (Wyndham, 1951/2008, p. 47) Suppose it is a nice sunny day, and you decide to linger in the sun; after a few minutes you may feel thirsty and you look for some refreshment. It can be said that this situation triggers two ‘situations’; on the one hand there is a physical process: the body’s reaction to heat, and on the other hand, there is a ‘mental effect’: the experience of heat like being thirsty. The relationship between the two situations has been the source of many debates within†¦show more content†¦My own sympathies, supported by arguments like the completeness of physics (Papineau, 2001) –among others- and empirical research is with the physicalist approach. However, one of the problems with physicalism is its reductivism. For example, there is the claim that consciousness is no more than a brain process (Smart, 1959); however, the problem of these reductive approaches is to find the physical process or the physical laws that can explain the mental in th ose terms. There are strong arguments against such reduction: (Putnam, 1967, Davidson, 1970, Fodor, 1974) with the ideas of multiple realizability, special sciences and anomalous monism are all critical of reductive views, consequently a form of physicalism in non-reductive terms is not just plausible, but a promissory alternative of understanding the mental in physical terms; for instance, Baker (2008) suggests that â€Å"nonreductive materialism holds that the mental is ontologically part of the material world; yet, mental properties are causally efficacious without being reducible to physical properties† (Baker, 2009, p. 109). It is argued in this thesis that physicalist ontology can be secure without the constraints and problems of reductionism, through this non-reductive physicalism (NRP for short). Moreover, if identity theory can be reconciled with a view such as functionalism then non-reductive physicalism can be argue it is a robust The Problem Of Separation And Dualism - 1399 Words Non Reductive Physicalism â€Å"‘And that’, he argued, ‘means that somewhere in them is intelligence. It can’t be seated in a brain because dissection shows nothing like a brain –but that doesn’t prove there isn’t something that does a brain’s job† (Wyndham, 1951/2008, p. 47) Suppose it is a nice sunny day, and you decide to linger in the sun; after a few minutes you may feel thirsty and you look for some refreshment. It can be said that this situation triggers two ‘situations’; on the one hand there is a physical process: the body’s reaction to heat, and on the other hand, there is a ‘mental effect’: the experience of heat like being thirsty. The relationship between the two situations has been the source of many debates within philosophy. One name for this entire group of debates is the ‘mind-body problem’; this name suggests a problem of separation and dualism. Dualism shall be claimed, it is an intuitive position; it offers an explanation of the mind and body in terms of substances (Descartes, 1641) or properties (Strawson, 1959), in which the mind is somehow considered as a non-physical thing, thus separated from the physical world. In contrast, a rival view is that there are only physical things, hence there is no separation between mind and body as suggested by dualism, and that the mind is most accurately described in physical terms. (One physicalist view is the identity theory (Place, 1956, Smart, 1959)) So as not to prejudge these problems it may be better toShow MoreRelatedThe Problem Of Separation And Dualism1399 Words   |  6 Pages‘mind-body problem’; this name suggests a problem of separation and dualism. Dualism shall be claimed, it is an intuitive position; it offers an explanation of the mind and body in terms of substances (Descartes, 1641) or properties (Strawson, 1959), in which the mind is somehow considered as a non-physical thing, thus separated from the physical world. In contrast, a rival view is that there are only physical things, hence there is no separation between mind and body as suggested by dualism, and thatRead MoreThe Problem Of Separation And Dualism1399 Words   |  6 Pages‘mind-body problem’; this name suggests a problem of separation and dualism. Dualism shall be claimed, it is an intuitive position; it offers an explanation of the mind and body in terms of substances (Descartes, 1641) or properties (Strawson, 1959), in whi ch the mind is somehow considered as a non-physical thing, thus separated from the physical world. In contrast, a rival view is that there are only physical things, hence there is no separation between mind and body as suggested by dualism, and thatRead MoreThe Theory Of Human Matter1179 Words   |  5 Pagesis idea of a separation of mind and body is known as dualism. It’s opposing belief, monism, is a more scientific view of the mind body problem in that they rely commonly on only what they can observe in the body being that they believe that the body and mind are one. I don’t discredit the work and possibility of the existence of the monist view, I simply am an optimistic and found the dualist approach more appealing in approaching the mind body problem. The theory of mind-body dualism created by ReneRead MoreThe Relation of Consciousness to the Material World Essays707 Words   |  3 PagesThe Relation of Consciousness to the Material Worl The relation of consciousness to the material world is puzzle, which has its origin in dualism, a philosophy of mind which posits their fundamental separation. Dualism, in turn, has its roots in folk wisdom. The belief that humans are more than bodies and that there is something in human nature that survives bodily death has its origins in prehistory; it becomes explicit in the mythology of Ancient Egypt and Assyria and was formulated intoRead MoreRene Descartes And Blaise Pascal1619 Words   |  7 Pagesimplications for the concept of Idealism. The philosophy of Idealism is a system of thought that, in a nut shell, claims that knowledge and reason are dependent upon the mind. This idea is in contradiction to Descartes and Pascal’s belief in dualism. 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Robert Lane, a professor at the University of West Georgia, define the two as follows: Cartesian dualism is the theory that the mind and body are two totally different things, capable of existing separately, and logical behaviorism is the theoryRead MoreRene Descartes: Cartesian Dualism Essay example1625 Words   |  7 PagesDescartian dualism is one of the most long lasting legacies of Rene Descartes’ philosophy. He argues that the mind and body operate as separate entities able to exist without one another. That is, the mind is a thinking, non-extended entity and t he body is non-thinking and extended. His belief elicited a debate over the nature of the mind and body that has spanned centuries, a debate that is still vociferously argued today. In this essay, I will try and tackle Descartes claim and come to some conclusionRead MorePlato’s Tripartite Theory Essays995 Words   |  4 Pagesjust person would operate. He explains that just like society is split up into different institutions, such as the ruling class and the working class, the human being is also split up into different institutions. Plato describes this tripartite separation by using an allegory of a charioteer driving two horses. The charioteer signifies the rational part of the soul. The foul black horse signifies the appetitive part of the soul and the white noble horse next to it signifies the spirited part of theRead MoreAnalysis Of Elisabeth s Criticism Of Descartes Mind Body Dualism1398 Words   |  6 PagesCriticism of Descartes’ Mind-Body Dualism Renà © Descartes’ seventeenth century philosophy receives much of the credit for the basis of modern philosophy, specifically his argument that the body and the mind are completely separate substances, each with its own independence from the other, also known as dualism. Descartes was educated in the Aristotelian and Greek tradition, and those ideas influenced his dualist thought. In Meditations, Descartes focused on dualism in the context of human consciousnessRead MoreCartesian Dualism And Transhumanism : Theories Within Their Time Contexts1510 Words   |  7 PagesCartesian dualism and transhumanism are both controversial theories within their time contexts. Leahey (2004) describes Descartes dualism as the separation of the body and the soul. The soul is immaterial and is the location for thought, consciousness, and the Cartesian Theatre, and controls the actions of the material body. Transhumanism theorises that technology will enhance and supersede human evolution (Elki ns 2011,) as technology will become an extension of ourselves, or already is. I will explore