Author Question: What are the two forms of physicalism? How do they differ from each ... (Read 47 times)

cookcarl · **on:** Jul 14, 2018

What are the two forms of physicalism?

How do they differ from each other?

Question 2

What was Ryle's view of the mental as it relates to the physical?

How did Ryle's view differ from those before him?

SamMuagrove · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 14, 2018

Answer to Question 1

- Physicalism: all mental states are explainable in terms of physical brain states; there is no separate, immaterial self.
- Functionalism: Mental states (beliefs, desires, being in pain, etc.) are constituted solely by their functional rolethat is, they cause other mental states, sensory inputs, and behavioral outputs. Jerry Fodor takes behaviorism farther, pointing out that mental events, activities, or processes form connections between sensory stimulus and behavioral response.
- Eliminative Materialism: Our ordinary, commonsense understanding of the mind is deeply wrong and that some or all of the mental states posited by common sense do not actually exist. Paul Churchland says that the usual terms that describe mental states are folk psychology; we need a new vocabulary and conceptual framework grounded in neuroscience.

Answer to Question 2

- Ryle's philosophy aligns with behaviorism in psychology, where the self is defined in terms of the individual's behavior.
- Ryle characterized Descartes' myth of the dualism of mind and body as the ghost in the machine, where the immaterial self is rattling around inside the physical body.
- For Ryle, the self is best understood as a pattern of behavior, the tendency or disposition for a person to behave in a certain way in certain circumstances.
- Inherent problems: Ryle's denial of inner selves causes a difficulty analogous to Hume's denial of a similar entitynamely, that Ryle writes, speaks, and acts as if the existence of the inner self is not in doubt