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49 Cards in this Set
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Anamnesis |
In Plato's theory of the Forms, it is the process of remembering innate knowledge of the Forms contained within the immortal soul. -Gained through rational development of the mind through education & contemplation. |
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Behaviourism |
The view that the mental attributes apply to physical behaviour. In other words, human thoughts (or mental events) are simply learnt behaviours. This is another type of materialism. [Supported by B.F Skinner, an American behaviourist psychologist]. |
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Biological materialism |
A view supported by Richard Dawkins' View. The hard materialist view that we are nothing more but "bytes of digital information" passed by our DNA. -Dawkins rejects the substance Dualist view of the mind-body problem. |
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A posteriori |
Knowledge gained through experience. |
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A priori |
Knowledge gained through reason -Rationalists; Plato & Descartes. |
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Argument from knowledge |
One of Plato's main arguments to prove that the soul exists. The claim that people come to understand the truth because this knowledge is contained within the soul & therefore something not learnt through our experiences. |
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Arguement from Opposites |
One of Plato's main arguments to prove the soul exists. By observing the world around us we can see that everything has an opposite (e.g, life & death, light & darkness), therefore the opposite of the body is a transient, immortal soul. |
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Cartesian dualism |
Also Referred to as Substance dualism. In the philosophy of mind, attributed to Descartes & applies to modern supporters on mind-body dualism. Denotes either the view that mental phenomena are non-physical (immaterial), or that the mind & body are distinct & separable. |
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Categorical error |
The error of assigning to something a quality or action which can only properly be assigned to things of another category. (E.g, treatment abstract concepts as through they had a physical location).
According to Gilbert Ryle's original description "A category error represents the facts as if they belonged to one logical type or category (or range of types or categories), when actually they belong to another". ↓ Ryle argued that that it was a mistake to treat the mind as an object made of an immaterial substance. ↓ His 'Ghost in the Machine' is an argument against the traditional idea of a soul which interprets the soul as a ghost like entity occupying a physical body. |
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Chariot Analogy |
A metaphorical way in Plato explains how the soul is compared to a charioteer trying to direct the 2 horses which are moving in separate directions towards the truth. -Charioteer: Soul -Black horse: Body -White horse: Mind |
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Cognitive science |
Refers to a range of academic disciplines which consider the nature of human cognition (Knowledge). |
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Consciousness |
Self-awareness. |
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De Anima |
Means 'on the soul'- written by Aristotle. -His discussion centres on the kinds of souls possessed by different kinds of living things (Plants, Animals & Humans) distinguished by their different operations & how the soul is part of the physical body rather than something separate. ↓ (Opposite to Plato & Descartes) |
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Double aspect theory |
The view that all reality has both physical & mental aspects. |
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Eliminative materialism |
The view that mental phenomena do not exist as independent from the brain, & that neuroscience will eventually be able to explain everything about the mind. |
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Epiphenomenalism |
The idea that the mind is generated because of brain activity, but cannot determine the brain activity. |
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Functionalism |
The view that the mind plays a functional role in assessing inputs from the senses & giving the appropriate responses. Mental states are not identified with physical states, but the mental does not exist apart from the physical. |
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'Ghost in the Machine' |
The attempt by Gilbert Ryle to criticise the Cartesian account of the body-soul relationship (e.g, Descartes Substance Dualism) by describing the soul as the ghost of the machine (body). |
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The Hard Problem of Consciousness |
The problem of explaining why any physical state is consciousness rather than non-conscious. It is the problem of explaining why conscious mental states 'light up' & directly appear to the subject. ↓ It is the problem of trying to explain how have qualia or phenomenal experiences. |
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Idealism |
The view that there is only one kind of substance. (E.g, a mental substance (the physical world exists because of our mental awareness of it). Where mind & consciousness are first order realities to which matter is subject & material interactions are secondary. |
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Identity theory |
All mental activities are centred in the brain. |
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Intentionally |
The view that all Consciousness is directed towards some object & that all thought is therefore 'about' something. |
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Interactionism |
In Descartes Philosophy, the view that mind & body interact within the pineal gland in the brain. [Pineal gland actually produces melatonin, which helps regulate sleep] |
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Materialism |
Is a form of physical monism that holds that matter is the fundamental substance in nature, & that all things (including mental states & consciousness) are the results of material interactions. According to philosophical materialism, the mind is the by-product or epiphenomena of material processes (such as the biochemistry of the human brain & nervous system) , without the mind cannot exist. It supports the view that someone is just a physical body: The true idea that Consciousness can be fully explained by physical interactions. ↓ The rejection of a soul as a spiritual substance (e.g, Dawkins, Gilbert Ryle's argument that the idea of a soul is categorical error). |
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Hard Materialism |
All characteristics of something are physical. |
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Soft Materialism |
Not all Characteristics are physical, but the mind cannot be separated from the body. (Aristotle was one). |
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Monism |
Only 1 substance exists. |
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Pre-established harmony |
The view that the mental & physical world are independent, but designed by God to work together. |
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Property Dualism |
The view that distinguishes the mind & body, but without requiring the mind to be a separate substance from the body (a materialist view). (Aristotle was one). |
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Qualia |
The phenomenological qualities of subjective conscious experience (e.g, what it feels like in your mind to experience something such as colour, texture & sound, etc). A term used to refer to a person's subjective experience of the physical world. |
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res extensa & res cognita |
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Solipsism |
The philosophical idea that only one's mind is sure to exist. A term which generally refers to the view that we have no certain we have no other minds & therefore are alone in this world. As an epistemological position, solipsism goes further to the conclusion that the world & other minds do not exist. |
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Substance Dualism |
The idea that mind body are distinct substances. For example, Descartes' proposal of material & spiritual substances as a solution to the mind/soul & body problem (Cartesian Dualism). Also Plato's distinction between the body & soul. |
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Important Key Terms; |
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Thomas Nagel- What is it like to be a bat? |
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What is Descartes basic argument for Substance Dualism? |
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Descartes' 1st Proof: Arguement from doubt |
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Descartes' 2nd Proof: Argument from Divisibility & Non-divisibilty |
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Descartes' 2nd Proof: Argument from Divisibility & Non-divisibilty |
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Descartes' 3rd Proof: The Argument from Clear & Distinct Perception |
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Cartesian Circle: Criticism of Descartes' 3rd Proof |
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Criticisms of Descartes Interactionism (Includes Hume's Bundle Theory) |
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Richard Dawkins Soul 1 & 2: (1) |
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Richard Dawkins Soul 1 & 2 (2) |
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Plato's Chariot Analogy: |
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Plato's 2 main arguments for the existence of the soul: |
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Aristotle's 'Wax Seal Analogy': |
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{Revision Checklist} |
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