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Single Idea 4969

[filed under theme 15. Nature of Minds / A. Nature of Mind / 1. Mind / a. Mind ]

Full Idea

I regard the mind-body problem as wide open, and extremely confusing.

Gist of Idea

I regard the mind-body problem as wide open, and extremely confusing

Source

Saul A. Kripke (Naming and Necessity notes and addenda [1972], note 77)

Book Ref

Kripke,Saul: 'Naming and Necessity' [Blackwell 1980], p.155


A Reaction

Kripke opposes reductive physicalism, but is NOT committed to dualism. He seems to be drawn to Davidson or Nagel (see his note 73). I think his discussion of contingent mind-brain identity is confused.


The 14 ideas from 'Naming and Necessity notes and addenda'

Unicorns are vague, so no actual or possible creature could count as a unicorn [Kripke]
What many people consider merely physically necessary I consider completely necessary [Kripke]
What is often held to be mere physical necessity is actually metaphysical necessity [Kripke]
The best known objection to counterparts is Kripke's, that Humphrey doesn't care if his counterpart wins [Kripke, by Sider]
Possible worlds are useful in set theory, but can be very misleading elsewhere [Kripke]
We might fix identities for small particulars, but it is utopian to hope for such things [Kripke]
A vague identity may seem intransitive, and we might want to talk of 'counterparts' [Kripke]
Kaplan's 'Dthat' is a useful operator for transforming a description into a rigid designation [Kripke]
A description may fix a reference even when it is not true of its object [Kripke]
Even if Gödel didn't produce his theorems, he's still called 'Gödel' [Kripke]
A relation can clearly be reflexive, and identity is the smallest reflexive relation [Kripke]
A different piece of wood could have been used for that table; constitution isn't identity [Wiggins on Kripke]
The a priori analytic truths involving fixing of reference are contingent [Kripke]
I regard the mind-body problem as wide open, and extremely confusing [Kripke]