Philosophy of mind, Brain and
Behaviour
Lecture 1: Introduction and dualism
Philosophy for psychologists
Systematic set of questions in philosophy for psychologists:
- What is …?
- What do you mean by that exactly?
- What arguments can you give for that idea?
- Is that really true though?
Philosophy of mind: what is the mind?
- Mind: umbrella term, e.g., experiencing, thinking, having emotions, …
- What is the relation of the mind to the body?
Philosophy of science: what is science?
- What distinguishes science from pseudoscience?
- What does actual science look like?
A case study of self-control
What is the mind?
- Different assumptions about what the mind is and how it relates to the body
- Self-control = blood glucose levels (mental = physical)
- Self-control = deliberation winning out over impulses (mental and physical in conflict)
- Self-control = self-initiated manipulation of surroundings to regulate conflicting
impulses in the service of enduringly valued goals (mental, physical and environment)
What is science?
, - Failure to replicate the ego depletion effect (limited mental energy to perform self-
control, e.g., more likely to eat marshmallow when hungry/tired)
Mind-body problem
Mind-body problem:
- Mind-body problem: what is the relationship between the mind and the body?/ what
is the relationship between the mental realm (the realm of thoughts, sensations,
emotions) and the physical realm (the realm of tables, bodies, neurons, atoms)?
Dualism
Mind-body dualism:
- Mind-body dualism: “the mental and the physical are both real and neither can be
assimilated to the other”
- What are we talking about exactly when we talk about ‘the mental’ and ‘the
physical’?
o Substance dualism different things
o Property dualism different properties of the same thing
o Predicate dualism different terms in our language
Substance dualism:
- Substance dualism: the mind and the body are two separate substances and can exist
independently of each other
- René Descartes (1596-1650):
o Mind: a thinking thing (res cogitans)
o Body: an extended thing (res extensa)
o “I doubt, therefore I am – or what is the same – I think, therefore I am”
, Arguments for substance dualism:
- Leibniz “X = Y, only when X and Y share all properties”
- Premise 1: I can doubt the existence of my body
- Premise 2: I cannot doubt the existence of my thinking/doubting
- Conclusion: Therefore, my body and my thinking cannot be the same thing
- Premise 1: I can divide up my body
- Premise 2: My mind cannot be divided up
- Conclusion: Therefore, my body and my mind cannot be the same thing
Counterarguments for substance dualism:
- The interaction problem: how can an immaterial substance
(thinking thing) act on a material substance (body)?
- The morning star and the evening star (these stars seem distinct to us, when in
reality they are the same star) the conclusion that body and thinking cannot be
the same thing does not follow from premises
Summary
Summary:
- Q. What is the mind? What is its relation to the body?
- A. The mind and the body are two different things (substance dualism)
- Q. What do you mean by that exactly?
Behaviour
Lecture 1: Introduction and dualism
Philosophy for psychologists
Systematic set of questions in philosophy for psychologists:
- What is …?
- What do you mean by that exactly?
- What arguments can you give for that idea?
- Is that really true though?
Philosophy of mind: what is the mind?
- Mind: umbrella term, e.g., experiencing, thinking, having emotions, …
- What is the relation of the mind to the body?
Philosophy of science: what is science?
- What distinguishes science from pseudoscience?
- What does actual science look like?
A case study of self-control
What is the mind?
- Different assumptions about what the mind is and how it relates to the body
- Self-control = blood glucose levels (mental = physical)
- Self-control = deliberation winning out over impulses (mental and physical in conflict)
- Self-control = self-initiated manipulation of surroundings to regulate conflicting
impulses in the service of enduringly valued goals (mental, physical and environment)
What is science?
, - Failure to replicate the ego depletion effect (limited mental energy to perform self-
control, e.g., more likely to eat marshmallow when hungry/tired)
Mind-body problem
Mind-body problem:
- Mind-body problem: what is the relationship between the mind and the body?/ what
is the relationship between the mental realm (the realm of thoughts, sensations,
emotions) and the physical realm (the realm of tables, bodies, neurons, atoms)?
Dualism
Mind-body dualism:
- Mind-body dualism: “the mental and the physical are both real and neither can be
assimilated to the other”
- What are we talking about exactly when we talk about ‘the mental’ and ‘the
physical’?
o Substance dualism different things
o Property dualism different properties of the same thing
o Predicate dualism different terms in our language
Substance dualism:
- Substance dualism: the mind and the body are two separate substances and can exist
independently of each other
- René Descartes (1596-1650):
o Mind: a thinking thing (res cogitans)
o Body: an extended thing (res extensa)
o “I doubt, therefore I am – or what is the same – I think, therefore I am”
, Arguments for substance dualism:
- Leibniz “X = Y, only when X and Y share all properties”
- Premise 1: I can doubt the existence of my body
- Premise 2: I cannot doubt the existence of my thinking/doubting
- Conclusion: Therefore, my body and my thinking cannot be the same thing
- Premise 1: I can divide up my body
- Premise 2: My mind cannot be divided up
- Conclusion: Therefore, my body and my mind cannot be the same thing
Counterarguments for substance dualism:
- The interaction problem: how can an immaterial substance
(thinking thing) act on a material substance (body)?
- The morning star and the evening star (these stars seem distinct to us, when in
reality they are the same star) the conclusion that body and thinking cannot be
the same thing does not follow from premises
Summary
Summary:
- Q. What is the mind? What is its relation to the body?
- A. The mind and the body are two different things (substance dualism)
- Q. What do you mean by that exactly?
