PROBLEM 2:
Learning Goals
Case 1:
• How do the mind and body interact?
• What controls our thoughts and behaviour?
• What other views are there on this problem?
Case 2:
• What are the different views on the relationship between mind and body?
Case 3:
• What are the positions represented by the quotes (from the problem) regarding the mind-body
problem?
• Do robots have mental states? (according to different views)
• Can robots fall in love?
What is the Mind-body Problem?
Keith Campbell
• The mind is a nonphysical thing
• The body is a physical thing
• The mind and the body interact
• Physical and nonphysical things cannot interact
DUALIST THEORIES OF MIND AND BODY
Interactionism and Substance Dualism
Dualism: antinaturalism claim that the mind and body are two separate/ very different things
• physical à the body
• nonphysical à the mind/ soul à not part of nature
Substance dualism: the view that mind and body are distinct in the sense they can exist
independently of each other, or are substances
• substance: an individual thing that can exist by itself
• doesn’t talk about location of the mind and how they influence each other
• idea of the tree by Lowe à does not solve the problem does not explain how they interact
Interactionist substance dualism: view that these two substances or things exist and can interact
causally (e.g. when the body takes in too much beer, the mind becomes confused, mood can change)
, The body can exist without the mind, after burial. (e.g. waking up just your mind but your body is
gone)
Difficulty of interactionism: how can the mind and body interact if one is physical and one is
nonphysical à can deny that mind is nonphysical
Contemporary Attempts to make Dualism work
• E.J. Lowe: the structure of the causal chains of events is a branching structure and since the
chains get intertwined, the structure as a whole has no end.
§ Mental events cannot interact/ fail to interact with tips and initiate causal actions
§ Activation of the neurophysiological causal tree explains the WAY the movement
occurs.
§ Tree mediates relationship between mind and action but meditation is a causal
relationship
§ How does the mind activate the whole tree? If interacting with tips is possible then
interacting with whole is too.
§ The intention and activation of the tree of events takes place at the same time, the one
responsible for how and the other responsible for the fact of the movement.
§ Does not eliminate the pairing problem
§ How doesn’t the mind not go into the wrong tree structure (someone else’s
mind)
Property Dualism
Dualism not of substances or things but of their properties
Only one substance with 2 properties à physical and nonphysical
Physical Version: the mind is physical and the relevant part of the brain for causal interactions
• Mental properties are grounded to the physical brain
• not reducible to physical properties
• Denies the mind and body are distinct since the mind is a physical thing
• the mind is physical and has nonphysical properties
• how can nonphysical properties influence the physical body
e.g. art piece à has the property of being art and the property of being aesthetic, if you damage one
property you damage both aspects
Parallelism
Mind and body are distinct but they do not interact
physical and nonphysical things cannot interact
Learning Goals
Case 1:
• How do the mind and body interact?
• What controls our thoughts and behaviour?
• What other views are there on this problem?
Case 2:
• What are the different views on the relationship between mind and body?
Case 3:
• What are the positions represented by the quotes (from the problem) regarding the mind-body
problem?
• Do robots have mental states? (according to different views)
• Can robots fall in love?
What is the Mind-body Problem?
Keith Campbell
• The mind is a nonphysical thing
• The body is a physical thing
• The mind and the body interact
• Physical and nonphysical things cannot interact
DUALIST THEORIES OF MIND AND BODY
Interactionism and Substance Dualism
Dualism: antinaturalism claim that the mind and body are two separate/ very different things
• physical à the body
• nonphysical à the mind/ soul à not part of nature
Substance dualism: the view that mind and body are distinct in the sense they can exist
independently of each other, or are substances
• substance: an individual thing that can exist by itself
• doesn’t talk about location of the mind and how they influence each other
• idea of the tree by Lowe à does not solve the problem does not explain how they interact
Interactionist substance dualism: view that these two substances or things exist and can interact
causally (e.g. when the body takes in too much beer, the mind becomes confused, mood can change)
, The body can exist without the mind, after burial. (e.g. waking up just your mind but your body is
gone)
Difficulty of interactionism: how can the mind and body interact if one is physical and one is
nonphysical à can deny that mind is nonphysical
Contemporary Attempts to make Dualism work
• E.J. Lowe: the structure of the causal chains of events is a branching structure and since the
chains get intertwined, the structure as a whole has no end.
§ Mental events cannot interact/ fail to interact with tips and initiate causal actions
§ Activation of the neurophysiological causal tree explains the WAY the movement
occurs.
§ Tree mediates relationship between mind and action but meditation is a causal
relationship
§ How does the mind activate the whole tree? If interacting with tips is possible then
interacting with whole is too.
§ The intention and activation of the tree of events takes place at the same time, the one
responsible for how and the other responsible for the fact of the movement.
§ Does not eliminate the pairing problem
§ How doesn’t the mind not go into the wrong tree structure (someone else’s
mind)
Property Dualism
Dualism not of substances or things but of their properties
Only one substance with 2 properties à physical and nonphysical
Physical Version: the mind is physical and the relevant part of the brain for causal interactions
• Mental properties are grounded to the physical brain
• not reducible to physical properties
• Denies the mind and body are distinct since the mind is a physical thing
• the mind is physical and has nonphysical properties
• how can nonphysical properties influence the physical body
e.g. art piece à has the property of being art and the property of being aesthetic, if you damage one
property you damage both aspects
Parallelism
Mind and body are distinct but they do not interact
physical and nonphysical things cannot interact
