Mentalism, Physicalism And Dualism

Despite several centuries, decades and years of research, the human mind continues to perplex many. Over time theorists created several approaches such as mentalism, physicalism and dualism. Mentalists view the world as a subjective experience, explaining physical phenomena to be caused by perception. Physicalists argue that the brain operates under physical laws, so that ultimately everything is physical or are subsequent to physical events. Conscience, thoughts, beliefs, emotions and feelings make up intangible elements of human mentality. However, there also exists the tangible object of the brain and its physical properties. Together, both are necessary for the functioning of the mind. As a result, both tangible and intangible cannot explain

Physicalists believe that all phenomena are supervened by physical events – all events happen in accordance to physical laws, therefore there is no possibility of having psychological phenomena that are not physical. Thus, there are two concepts that can be used as an argument. One concept talks about the physical aspects of the brain whereas the other explains how a mental state (thoughts and emotions) consists of simply perceptions based on physical events that had affected them. For a simple example, take a belief that you are holding a cube of ice. You can justify your belief that it is a cube of ice based off the reactions of the nerves inside your hand which travel up to the brain, consequently firing neurons that signal you are holding something cold and cube-like in shape. Through the mental concept stated above, you achieve the belief mentally by recognizing the characteristics of the ice based on your physical reaction. Some argue that physicalists’ arguments are invalid because not everything has a physical form. Physicalists refute this claim by stating that there may not be an obvious physical form that you are aware of when you think of the belief. This inability to detect the unobvious physical form causes a confusion which leads the believer into thinking that a physical form does not exist at all. A more complicated example would be to take an equation X+X=Y. To most, mathematical equations have no form, however we simply know the answers that 1+1=2, 2+2=4, 4+4=8, etc. However, physicalists argue that there is a physical form that is yet to be revealed using a method other than the belief concept. Identity theorists use the same method with the two concepts to discuss the dualism approach’s complications with identity. Take Fa Mulan from the Disney movie, Mulan. Before her father received a notice of enlistment in the draft, she