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Recommended: Identity (philosophy)
Bradey Chambers 010629819 Short Answer 1. The identity theory (reductive materialism) states that mental states are brain states. Basically each mental state/process is the same as the physical state or process(es) within the brain. What they say about the mind is that the mind is just the brain and mental states are brain states. Functionalism is the doctrine that what makes up a particular mental state doesn’t depend on the what it’s made with or how it’s built, but the way it functions or the role it plays within its system. They say that mental states are defined by functional roles and mental kinds are functional kinds. They say that things with minds are just things put together in the right way. As long as something can play the ‘functional role’ that defines, pain for example, then that thing has pains. What makes them similar is that they are both a certain type of physicalist (where nothing exists past the physical properties; basically only physical things exist). Identity theorists would agree with type physicalism while functionalists would agree with token physicalism. However to separate the two physicalists we would have to distinguish a difference between type and token. Where if we said “more and more and more” there would be two types of words (“more” and “and,”) while there would be five tokens (two tokens of the type “and” and three token of the type “more”). Identity theorists or type physicalists would say that brain activity and those mental processes are type identical or basically within the same category. Token physicalists, which are more event specific, would say that the mental processes are different in quality than the physical counterparts or reactions within the brain. What they’re saying is th... ... middle of paper ... ...d on their choices. I would assume that there is a cause behind these free actions specifically their character, personality etc. Without these assumptions, morality wouldn’t make sense. Although sometimes people do things that happen not from their personality, character, etc; these actions are caused by things like an external force and not specifically by the person. Of course, it wouldn’t make sense to punish or reward someone when those actions were based on things that were not of their own choosing because the purpose of the reward/punishment system is to change future behavior. But if we were to say, as a hard determinist would, that no one ever acts freely then we couldn’t morally reward or punish or place blame. And in that case there would no difference between good or bad actions and we can all accept that actions have a good or a bad basis behind them.
Functionalism is basically a theory that describes the mental state of human beings through the combination of both behaviorism theory and the identity theory of the human mind. According to this theory, mental states of people are majorly identified or rather defined by what they frequently do and
The first counter case to functionalism is the ‘homunculi head’. In this thought experiment Block asks us to conceive of a body externally equivalent to our own, but with a distinct internally distinct (pg. 215). The homunculi-head uses tiny men to process inputs and outputs. Each man performs a role normally accomplished by a part of your brain. The G-men do not work together on any functional role in the system, so little intelligence is required to be a G-man. Nevertheless, each G-man is able to perform the same role a part of your brain normally would. If you add up enough roles in a brain you can achieve qualitative states. With the homunculi-head these roles cannot be conjoined to give rise to a qualitative state. With all the G-men performing the same role as the brain the two systems are functionally equivalent. If functionalism is true, then an arrangement of G-men could have a qualitative state. But, it is intuitively false an arrangement of unintelligent G-men could have a single mental state you would normally have. So, functionalism is false.
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.
Functionalism is a theory in which various social institutions and processes in society serve a significant function in order for society to continue
In terms of the mind, mental states globally supervene on physical states, meaning that there are no changes in the mental without changes in the physical. Identity theory is a
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”
Fodor begins his article on the mind-body problem with a review of the current theories of dualism and materialism. According to dualism, the mind and body are two separate entities with the body being physical and the mind being nonphysical. If this is the case, though, then there can be no interaction between the two. The mind could not influence anything physical without violating the laws of physics. The materialist theory, on the other hand, states that the mind is not distinct from the physical. In fact, supporters of the materialist theory believe that behavior does not have mental causes. When the materialist theory is split into logical behaviorism and the central-state identity theory, the foundation of functionalism begins to form. Logical behaviorism states that every mental feeling has the same meaning as an if-then statement. For example, instead of saying "Dr. Lux is hungry," one would say "If there was a quart of macadamia brittle nut in the freezer, Dr. Lux would eat it." The central-state identity theory states that a certain mental state equals a certain neurophysiological state. The theory works in a way similar to Berkeley’s representation of objects. Both mental states and objects are a certain collection of perceptions that together identify the particular state or object.
William James and Charles Darwin were both functionalists. Functionalists focused on the purpose of consciousness and behavior and emphasized individual differences. Functionalism and structuralism are very much alike in that they both emphasize the conscience self. Functionalism can be referred to in two different ways. It can refer to the study of how psychological method functions. “This is a major departure from the study of the structure of a mental process, the difference between stopping a train to tear it apart to study its parts (structuralism), and looking ...
What is identity? Identity is an unbound formation which is created by racial construction and gender construction within an individual’s society even though it is often seen as a controlled piece of oneself. In Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum’s piece, “The Complexity of Identity: ‘Who Am I?’, Tatum asserts that identity is formed by “individual characteristics, family dynamics, historical factors, and social and political contexts” (Tatum 105). Tatum’s piece, “The Complexity of Identity: ‘Who Am I?’” creates a better understanding of how major obstacles such as racism and sexism shape our self identity.
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:
Stephen Priest in Theories of Mind Chapter 5 describes functionalism as 'the theory that being in a mental state is being in a functional state' and adds that 'functionalism is, in a sense, an attempt to bypass the mind-body problem'. What does this definition really mean? An analogy might clarify the situation.
Functionalism is the oldest and most commonly used theoretical approach used to understand social issues. Functionalism is a macrosociological perspective that presents the idea that society consists of different components working together to help a society function as one. Sociolog...
In philosophy, the majority of studies relate to the mind. Whether it is the main subject or just a helpful side topic to move the main subject along, this term is used often. Defining the term mind is difficult, and is a topic that is popularly studied and debated among philosophers. These qualified and knowledgeable people try to determine whether or not the mind is who people are or if they are their body or a combination. Although they have learned many helpful truths and defined other useful terms, the debate is still evident in the philosophical community today. Learning about how the mind relates to the body, and whether the mind and the brain are the same thing are other ways to look at the many options of how to discern
The fifth stage, according to Erik Erikson psychoanalytic theory of development is the Identity Vs Identity confusion. The stage occurs during adolescence in the ages between 12 to 18 years. At this stage, the adolescents try to find a sense of personal and self-identity by intensely exploring their personal goals, beliefs, and values (McLeod, 2017). Notably, the adolescence is between childhood and adulthood. Thus, their mind is between the morality learned during childhood and the ethics they are trying to develop into adulthood. The transitioning from childhood to adulthood is the most important development for a person because the individual is becoming independent and is focusing on the future regarding career, relationships, families
Identity, if to be is summarised, can be described as "Body + Information = Identity" (McNally, 2011).