LIFE AFTER DEATH: Interactionalism and Physicalism Flashcards
What is interactionalism?
Descartes’ false view that mind and body interact within the pineal gland- ‘it interacts here’
What are the problems with Descartes’ interactionalism?
Stating where the soul interacts with the body solves nothing- it doesn’t tell us HOW they interact. Modern science has shown us that the pineal gland has a function- it regulates sleep
What is physicalism?
The idea that everything can be explained and described by matter
How does physicalism get rid of the notion of the soul?
- If everything is explained by matter then a soul isn’t needed
- There is no body/soul relationship
- There is no soul
What is functionalism?
An example of a physicalist theory where the mind is seen as an information processing system
What does multiple realisability mean for the mind in functionalism?
The mind can run on any appropriate physical system because mental states consist of sensory inputs and behavioural outputs
How does functionalism show that Cartesian Dualism is false?
- Mind is fundamentally linked to matter because if there are no physical bodies then there are no minds.
