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Single Idea 2579

[filed under theme 17. Mind and Body / E. Mind as Physical / 7. Anti-Physicalism / b. Multiple realisability ]

Full Idea

Physicalism is a chauvinist theory: it withholds mental properties from systems that in fact have them.

Clarification

'Chauvinist' here means prejudiced in favour of the human way of doing things

Gist of Idea

Physicalism is prejudiced in favour of our neurology, when other systems might have minds

Source

Ned Block (Troubles with Functionalism [1978], p. 71)

Book Ref

'The Philosophy of Mind', ed/tr. Beakley,B /Ludlow P [MIT 1992], p.71

A Reaction

This criticism interprets physicalism too rigidly. There may be several ways to implement a state. My own view is that other systems might implement our functions, but they won't experience them in a human way.

The 16 ideas from Ned Block

6172 The Inverted Earth example shows that phenomenal properties are not representational [Block, by Rowlands]
18033 The meaning of a representation is its role in thought, perception or decisions [Block]
2574 Behaviour requires knowledge as well as dispositions [Block]
2575 Functionalism is behaviourism, but with mental states as intermediaries [Block]
2576 In functionalism, desires are internal states with causal relations [Block]
2578 Could a creature without a brain be in the right functional state for pain? [Block]
2577 Simple machine-functionalism says mind just is a Turing machine [Block]
2580 A Turing machine, given a state and input, specifies an output and the next state [Block]
2579 Physicalism is prejudiced in favour of our neurology, when other systems might have minds [Block]
2581 Intuition may say that a complex sentence is ungrammatical, but linguistics can show that it is not [Block]
2582 A brain looks no more likely than anything else to cause qualia [Block]
2583 You might invert colours, but you can't invert beliefs [Block]
2584 Lobotomised patients can cease to care about a pain [Block]
2585 Not just any old functional network will have mental states [Block]
2586 In functionalism, what are the special inputs and outputs of conscious creatures? [Block]
3178 A fast machine could pass all behavioural tests with a vast lookup table [Block, by Rey]