Explaining the Mind: Physicalism Versus Dualism 1. Introduction In this paper I seek to show why physicalism and its revisions fail to explain the connection between the human mind and body. First, I will define physicalism and highlight some of its more successful revisions. I will then introduce concepts known as the Zombie and Mutant possibilities in order to use them in later sections. Next, I will expose the weaknesses of physicalism and its revisions by stating the reasons why they each fail
there the physical substance and it has mental properties. Property dualism is the best answer to the mind body problem. Without separating the mind and the body using the substance dualism point of view. This viewpoint of property dualism covers the problem of separating a physical body and the mind. The thesis statement of this paper is to discuss the issues of the mind-body problem arguing for the viewpoint of Property Dualism and refuting against it with the physicalist argument. The Mind Body
conceptual dualism gives rise to the explanatory gap, while the ontological monism evades an ontological gap. However, many analogies that have reconciled the epistemic gap with ontological monism have been widely disputed, which suggests that the standard way of reconciling conceptual dualism with ontological monism may not apply to the dualistic nature between the physical and the phenomenal. If standard principles applied here, then the conceptual dualism should yield an ontological dualism (Chalmers)
In my paper, I am going to analyze Frank Jackson’s Knowledge Argument, a proposal that renders physicalism false, by breaking it down into two simple premises. Soon after, I will consider two possible objections to Jackson’s argument, and finally conclude my paper with probable responses on behalf of Jackson. While I attempt to do all of the above, I will question Jackson’s argument and provide reasons for why I think he fails to proffer a convincing argument. Since physicalism renders everything
opposing principles, good and evil. Many people believe that there are two opposite and irreducible sides to everything; this philosophy is called dualism. Often dualism is explained in the form of a circular symbol called the ‘yin-yang’; it shows a balance between two opposites with a piece of the opposite element in each part. The concept of dualism has been explored in many stories, films, and poems throughout the years, but perhaps the first and most powerful exploration of the duality of human
Passion is a strong, but yet barely controllable emotion. In my personal commentary regarding passion, placing more energy into something than normally required to do it means you are realistically enthusiastic and excitement about it. Passion is an ambition that is materialized into action in order to place as much heart, mind, body, and soul into something that is possible. As passion closely relates to love, it may result in obsessive behavior. This may mean you are in love, passionately or have
Within modernity, there are many thinkers who have questioned the nature of substance: two among them that will be examined in closer detail are René Descartes and Baruch Spinoza. Though both extensively and logically lay out how they came to their conclusions, one argument is substantially more convincing than the other. Descartes’ mind-body distinction, as described in Meditations, is founded upon less than perfect premises—whereas Spinoza’s monism, as fleshed out in his Ethics, is placed upon
“Clear your head, dammit!” I scold myself. Of course, this only further adds noise to my internal dialogue. Dialogue? Monologue? Dialogue. No…Monologue. And so it goes in my head; there is no silence, there is no rest. Everything is processed and analyzed until any meaningful insight has evaporated in a “steam of consciousness.” But this can be tamed. As I struggle to write my observation journal, attempting to keep a totally impartial and unfiltered lens in my mind, I can tell myself to focus just
Frank Jackson’s proposed a philosophical theory about physicalism, which had lead to many discussions debating whether physicalism is true or false. In “The Journal of Philosophy”, Jackson described physicalism with an example of Mary in a black-and-white room where she was being educated through lectures in black-and-white television, along with black-and-white books. She learnt every physical fact there is in our environment and physical natures, but not all. When she left the room, given a colored
eachother, is based on a relationship between mind and matter. What is the relationship between mental and physical? Two both popular and conflicting approaches come from those that argue in favour of monism and those that argue in favour of dualism. A dualism approach expresses the idea that mental and physical events are separate and mutually irreducible concepts. Dualists believe the mind is separate from the physical body. Monism, however,