Tearing the Fabric: A critique of Materialism in Philosophy of Mind

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dc.contributor.authorPandora, Passia
dc.date.accessioned2019-05-17T16:16:25Z
dc.date.available2019-05-17T16:16:25Z
dc.date.copyright2019en_US
dc.date.issued2019-05-17
dc.description.abstractOne of the long-standing questions in the field of philosophy of mind is called the mind-body problem. The problem is this: given that minds and mental properties appear to be vastly different than physical objects and physical properties, how can the mind and body relate to and interact with each other? Most contemporary philosophers of mind accept a materialist perspective with respect to the nature of reality, i.e., there is one reality and it is physical. Therefore, materialism requires that mental phenomena be explained solely by physical reality. In response to the mind-body problem, materialists argue that mental properties reduce necessarily and completely to physical properties. In my analysis, I will offer a brief overview of the contemporary responses to the mind-body problem and discuss the development of some of the most prominent materialist theories. Next, I will present problems with the arguments offered in support of the materialist stance. Finally, I will argue that philosophers have failed to satisfactorily defend the materialist stance, specifically, they have been unable to explain how the mental reduces to the physical. The failure of materialist perspectives to explain mind and consciousness is our invitation to take a fresh look at the alternatives.en_US
dc.description.reviewstatusRevieweden_US
dc.description.scholarlevelUndergraduateen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipJCURA Dr. Eric Hochsteinen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/10888
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.relation.ispartofseriesJCURAen_US
dc.subjectmaterialism
dc.subjectphysicalism
dc.subjectmind-body problem
dc.subjectphilosophy of mind
dc.subjectNed Block
dc.subjectJohn Searle
dc.subjectThomas Nagel
dc.subjectDavid Chalmers
dc.subjectFrank Jackson and Kurt Gödel
dc.subjectthe Chinese Nation
dc.subjectthe Chinese Room
dc.subjectthe hard problem
dc.subjectthe knowledge argument
dc.subjectwhat is it like to be a bat
dc.subjectweak eliminativism
dc.titleTearing the Fabric: A critique of Materialism in Philosophy of Minden_US
dc.typePosteren_US

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