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Kinds of Philosophers

Kinds of Philosophers. The Mind-body Problem. What is it to be a human being, a “thing that thinks”? We are conscious beings, with minds We think: We believe, know, conjecture, estimate, guess, hypothesize, doubt We imagine, want, crave, feel emotion, pleasure, pain

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Kinds of Philosophers

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  1. Kinds of Philosophers

  2. The Mind-body Problem • What is it to be a human being, a “thing that thinks”? • We are conscious beings, with minds • We think: • We believe, know, conjecture, estimate, guess, hypothesize, doubt • We imagine, want, crave, feel emotion, pleasure, pain • We are also physical beings, with bodies • How can we be both?

  3. Dualism • We have a dual nature • We are both mental and physical beings • Minds and bodies are distinct and independent • The problem is how they interact

  4. Monism • Dualists hold that we have a dual nature • There are two fundamental kinds of thing (e.g., minds and bodies) • Monists hold that we have a unified nature • There is just one fundamental kind of thing • But which one? • Bodies (naturalism) • Minds (classical idealism) • Neither (neutral monism)

  5. Naturalism • We are fundamentally physical beings • We are parts of nature • We can be understood naturalistically • The problem is how to fit the mental into our understanding of the natural world

  6. Classical Idealism • We are fundamentally mental beings • Everything depends on mind • The problem is understanding how we construct physical objects mentally

  7. Neutral Monism • There is just one fundamental kind of thing • But it’s not specifically mental or physical— it can constitute both • Problems: What is it? How does it constitute them? • Almost no one has held this position

  8. Skepticism • All we have access to is mental— our own sensations, feelings, thoughts, desires. . . . • Is there anything else? Are they fundamental? We have no way of knowing

  9. Mind/body and other issues • Stances on the mind/body problem tend to determine outlooks on other philosophical issues

  10. Two Philosophical Issues • 1. Is the world independent of us, or do we in some sense construct it? • 2. Can we know anything about the world independently of experience?

  11. Realism and Idealism • 1. Is the world independent of us, or do we in some sense construct it? • Realism: Some things are independent of mind • Idealism: Everything depends on mind; things are constructions or projections of the mind

  12. Rationalism and Empiricism • 2. Can we know anything about the world independently of experience? • Rationalism: Yes: Some knowledge of the world is independent of our own experience • Empiricism: No: All knowledge of the world comes from experience

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