Single Idea 3371

[catalogued under 17. Mind and Body / B. Behaviourism / 4. Behaviourism Critique]

Full Idea

Mind-to-behaviour connections are always defeasible - by the occurrence of a further mental state.

Clarification

A theory is 'defeasible' if there could be evidence which counted heavily against it.

Gist of Idea

Behaviour depends on lots of mental states together

Source

Jaegwon Kim (Philosophy of Mind [1996], p. 35)

Book Reference

Kim,Jaegwon: 'Philosophy of Mind' [Westview 1998], p.35


A Reaction

But then an object's falling under gravity is always defeasible, by someone catching it first. This popular idea is meant to show that there could, as Davidson puts it, 'no psycho-physical laws', but I suspect the laws are just complex, like weather laws.