“All manner of nonphysical phenomena may coexist with [physical phenomena], even to the extent of sharing the same space-time, provided only that the nonphysical phenomena are entirely inefficacious with respect to the physical phenomena.” (p. 24) In David Lewis’ article “An Argument for Identity Theory” Lewis defends the psychoneural identity theory, arguing that mental states or experiences are neural states. In his main argument, he argues that physics can explain the causal relationship between mental states or experiences and physical phenomena. He uses an analogy of a cylindrical combination lock to explain the causal role that mental states play in producing physical phenomena. In order to put the lock into a state of being “unlocked” …show more content…
So, in the case of the combination lock, the right combination which causes the state of being ‘unlocked’ is the definitive characteristic of the experience of being ‘unlocked.’ Here he puts the premise in universal terms: “The definitive causal role of an experience is expressible by a finite set of conditions that specify its typical causes and its typical effects under various circumstances. By analytic necessity these conditions are true of the experience and jointly distinctive of it.”(pp. 19-20) By defining a mental state by the causal role it fills, Lewis builds on the behaviourist view of analytic necessity in a causal relationship, particularly between experience and mental states. Unlike behaviourists, Lewis’ theory allows mental states to be both causes and effects, whereas behaviourists argue that mental states were behavioural dispositions. According to Lewis the main difference between his theory and behaviourism is that his allows for interdefinition of experiences, whereas behaviourism does not allow for this unless they arrange experience into a “hierarchy of of definitional priority.” (p. 21) Lewis argues that his theory is superior because it does not have these limitations, because every experience is causally linked to to its physical phenomena so it is by analytic necessity that they are defined by each other. There is no reason to separate the two, they are
Identity, in general, is the way people are molded through the experiences of one’s life. The text Rule of the Bone by Russell Banks portrays the validity of the quote by Bernice Johnson Region “Life’s challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they’re supposed to help you discover who you are”. Aspects of one’s life is determined by multiple influential factors, that may result in positive or even negative effects such as family, cultural/social expectations, class structure and social inequality, and race.
Personal identity, in the context of philosophy, does not attempt to address clichéd, qualitative questions of what makes us us. Instead, personal identity refers to numerical identity or sameness over time. For example, identical twins appear to be exactly alike, but their qualitative likeness in appearance does not make them the same person; each twin, instead, has one and only one identity – a numerical identity. As such, philosophers studying personal identity focus on questions of what has to persist for an individual to keep his or her numerical identity over time and of what the pronoun “I” refers to when an individual uses it. Over the years, theories of personal identity have been established to answer these very questions, but the
Smart argues from the stance of identity theorist and believes that mental sensations are identical to a corresponding brain-process. Much of Smart’s paper is a counter argument against an identity theorist’s greatest rival, the dualist. Most of the human body has been explained by science in terms of biology, chemistry, and physics; though the brain remains largely mysterious. Recent technological advances regarding the research of the brain has allowed us to understand the mind in much better ways which is why Smart feels “that science is increasingly giving us a viewpoint whereby organisms are able to be seen as physicochemical mechanism” (61). He introduces the concept of Ockham’s razor and feels that scientists use it to introduce simplicity into their theories, which makes their explanations of concepts simpler. This simplicity is preferred because it also adds a sense of beauty to the laws discovered. With regards to his lightning example, Smart highlights how our experience of lightning is the physical process of discharged electrons from the ionization of water vapor in the atmosphere. Important to note here is that the two cannot be separated; you will not have a flash of lightning and then an electric discharge, rather lightning is electric discharge. This metaphor is crucial essay’s argument that sensations are identical to brain-processes. Ockham’s razor eliminates unnecessary nomological danglers from scientific theories, so why not apply the same concept to a theory of mind? We wouldn’t describe in our theory of lightning the ‘flashiness’ or ‘jaggedne...
The theory or doctrine of mind-brain identity, as its name implies, denies the claim of dualists that mind and brain (or consciousness and matter) are distinct substances. The tradition of dualism, whose clear-cut foundations laid by Rene Descartes (1596-1650) were built upon during succeeding centuries, sharply distinguishes between the stuff of consciousness and the stuff of matter. An outline of the position of the dualist will give a context for the identity theory.
Our lives are defined by our experiences of growing up and of who people are when people are developing. Both, in their respective regards, are something that can be difficult to alter to the individual. Gender, race, classes, and other building blocks of our identity are always shifting to who anyone is and while a person can’t affect themselves, society can, and often does change their perspective towards their own identity and how they interact with the stimulation outside of their psyche.
“Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.” Clive Staples Lewis, known as C.S. Lewis, was a popular Irish author, famous for his Christian works, especially “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Throughout his novels, Lewis enlightened his readers with his views about faith. Although his novels were revolved around Christianity, Lewis was not always a believer. There were many things that influenced Lewis as a writer, but the most significant were his love of fantasy, his fascination with mythology, and his Christian beliefs.
Compatibilism is the thesis that all events have a cause and are determined but we still have free will or, as Sider states, ‘we can retain both freedom and determinism’ (Sider 2005, 125). Van Inwagen states that ‘we must distinguish between a future’s being “internally” physically possible and its having a physically possible connection with the present’ (van Inwagen 2002, 205). By internally physically possible, van Inwagen means events that can actually happen and are within the laws of nature (van Inwagen 2002, 205). For example, it is internally physically possible that I will buy a packet of crisps for lunch today. By having a physically possible connection with the present, van Inwagen means events that are conceivable and logically possible given the present events (van Inwagen 2002, 206). Van Inwagen argues that the only way in which an internally physically possible future that...
Fodor develops the idea of functionalism by combining certain parts of logical behaviorism and the central-state identity theory. From logical behaviorism, Fodor incorporates the idea that mental processes can be represented by physical if-then statements. As such, behavior and mental causation are no longer distinct and unable to interact. Also, logical behaviorism provides a way for mental causes to interact with other mental causes. This, in turn, may result in a behavioral effect. The last point is also a characteristic of the central-state identity theory. One doctrine of the central-state identity theory is called "token physicalism." Token physicalism states that all mental states that currently exist are neurophysiological. Thus, token physicalism does not place physical restrictions on the type of substance capable of having mental properties. When the points of logical behaviorism and the central-state identity theory, as described here, are combined, functionalism is the result. The theory of functionalism supposes that a m...
thereby alter life situations in the natural? What he found was that it is possible that the mind acts back on itself (as the brain) to cause physical and structural change.
Functionalism is a materialist stance in the philosophy of mind that argues that mental states are purely functional, and thus categorized by their input and output associations and causes, rather than by the physical makeup that constitutes its parts. In this manner, functionalism argues that as long as something operates as a conscious entity, then it is conscious. Block describes functionalism, discusses its inherent dilemmas, and then discusses a more scientifically-driven counter solution called psychofunctionalism and its failings as well. Although Block’s assertions are cogent and well-presented, the psychofunctionalist is able to provide counterarguments to support his viewpoint against Block’s criticisms. I shall argue that though both concepts are not without issue, functionalism appears to satisfy a more acceptable description that philosophers can admit over psychofunctionalism’s chauvinistic disposition that attempts to limit consciousness only to the human race.
Culture influences identity greatly and this can be seen in “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini. When looking at all of the characters in this book there always seemed to be one that stood out to me more than all of the other characters. This unruly character that made so many decisions and executed so many actions that I would never even dream of doing or hear of others doing. Rasheed is proud of his culture and embraces it with open arms, he is not a man of change and refers to some of the changes around him disgustingly as “modern”. Making it very clear that he is not and never will be like those revolting “modern men” and that he is on a much higher level than them.
What is personal identity? This question has been asked and debated by philosophers for centuries. The problem of personal identity is determining what conditions and qualities are necessary and sufficient for a person to exist as the same being at one time as another. Some think personal identity is physical, taking a materialistic perspective believing that bodily continuity or physicality is what makes a person a person with the view that even mental things are caused by some kind of physical occurrence. Others take a more idealist approach with the belief that mental continuity is the sole factor in establishing personal identity holding that physical things are just reflections of the mind. One more perspective on personal identity and the one I will attempt to explain and defend in this paper is that personal identity requires both physical and psychological continuity; my argument is as follows:
The purpose of this paper is to identify James Marcia’s identity status theory and how it pertains to the author 's life during adolescence and early adulthood. The author will reflect as well as address the four statuses of development. Noting that Marcia’s theory has proven to be an effective and dependable tool in helping to determine the status of the identity development in adolescents.
The psychophysical dualism or mind-body distinction is the counterposition between two essentially irreducible elements: soul and body. Such dualism implies, as we will show, the more discussed issue of philosophy of cognitive science and philosophy of mind: the mind-body problem (MBP, henceforth) whose the en...