Philosophy of mind

Descartes was a great proponent of interactionist dualism. “In the philosophy of mind, dualism is the theory that the mental and the physical[,] or mind and body[,] are […] radically different” in nature. In addition, “interactionism is the view that mind and body […] causally influence each other.” In this essay, I will argue that Descartes’ view on interactionist dualism is incorrect. I will do so by: 1) presenting Descartes’ argument for dualism; 2) objecting to his arguments; 3) considering…

Regarding the mind and body, we cannot say that materialism is correct because there is nothing to prove that the mind is not its own entity. Rather, the Cartesian Dualism view is a possible alternative as the mind is dependent on the body and vice versa. Paul Churchland raises several arguments against dualism and in order to evaluate his objections, it is crucial to understand the concepts of substance dualism as well as its opposite, materialism, and how they differ from one another.…

Descartes meditations he argues the mind is a single unified phenomenon. The context of this argument is in favor of Dualism, he argues in favor of it using Liebniz’s “Principle of the Indiscernibility of Identicals”, the principle asserts that for two things to be identical then they must share all of the same properties. Descartes argues that since his body has parts it can be divided, but the mind has no parts and cannot be divided. “For in truth, when I consider the mind, that is, when I…

substance make up the world and exist independently. This philosophy sees the mind and the body as two separate things. As a result, the mind cannot be explained in terms of the brain. Substance dualism can be explained by the separation of pure mind and pure matter. Reductive physicalism is different than substance dualism because they do not include nonphysical stuff. This perspective views the world as made only of physical stuff. They see the mind as physical because it is composed of…

Intelligence by considering various positions from neuroscience, computer science and philosophy. 1.1 Consciousness in AI Artificial Intelligence refers to a machine or a program that is a flexible rational agent that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chance of success at some goal. Searle argued that a conscious AI, or “Strong AI”, has a mind in the same sense that human beings have minds. Such a mind would be aware of its perceptions, thoughts and feelings. 1.2…

An ongoing problem presented in philosophy is the question of whether our bodies have a separate entity lurking inside them--controlling and being controlled by it. This question is called the mind-body problem. Many philosophers across time have struggled with the question of where the mind resides. While some believe in physicalism, holding the view that everything that exists is no more extensive than its physical properties, others are convinced there are some parts of the human experience…

the “soul.” The beginning chapters explored the historical philosophies surrounding the concept of the soul while later chapters have sought to reconcile recent discoveries in neuroscience with common theory. Within these chapters the authors presented a “physicalist” understanding of the soul, contrary to Descartes’ dualist view of the brain/soul. Though neuroscience research has not declaratively disproved the dualistic theory of brain/mind, chapter 8 explores the implications of alternative…

device that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chance of success at some goal. Colloquially, the term "artificial intelligence" is applied when a machine mimics "cognitive" functions that humans associate with other human minds, such as "learning" and "problem solving". The field was founded on the claim that human intelligence "can be so precisely described that a machine can be made to simulate it". This raises philosophical arguments about…

The mind-brain problem, previously called the mind body problem was initially conceptualised by Descartes following his work on the metaphysical aspects of the soul during the 17th century. Descartes described the mind and brain in his book the Meditations on First Philosophy; "But what then am I? A thing that thinks. What is that? A thing that doubts, understands, affirms, denies, wills, refuses, and which also imagines and senses.” Descartes proposed that the mind and body are separate and…

Introduction Gottfried Wilheim Leibniz lived between 1646 and 1716. He was a German philosopher, mathematician and logician. In his contribution to philosophy, he is known for his wide range of thought about fundamental philosophical ideas and principles which includes truth, necessary and contingent truths, possible worlds, the principle of pre-established harmony and the principle of non-contradiction. His principle of pre-established harmony argues that God created the universe in such a way…