Mapping the world's opinions

Opinion map

Philosophy

Map: the Mind / Body debate

What is the mind? Since the beginning of human civilization, prominent thinkers have grappled with the idea of consciousness. Could the study of our brain and nervous system account for conscious thought? If not, and if conscious thought is somehow disembodied, what are the causal relationships between the non-physical processes and the physical ones?

Positions

Dualism

Human beings are made up of two distinct parts; the physical body and the non-physical mind.

Idealism

Idealists believe that only the mind exists and everything that we perceive in the physical world is merely a composition.

Materialism

Humans are made out of purely physical matter.

Functionalism

Our mental states can be reduced to a functional response to a stimulus.

Arguments supporting this position

Putnam's Functionalism

Hilary Putnam was a strong proponent of functionalism.

The Weakness of Materialism

Functionalism relies on the failure of materialism.

Select an argument above to explore the details

This page was last edited on Friday, 14 Sep 2018 at 17:55 UTC