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Single Idea 6546
[filed under theme 15. Nature of Minds / B. Features of Minds / 5. Qualia / c. Explaining qualia
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Full Idea
Our phenomenal experience of pain has components - it is a complex, consisting (perhaps) of urges, desires, impulses, and beliefs, probably occurring at quite different levels of institutional abstraction.
Gist of Idea
Pain is composed of urges, desires, impulses etc, at different levels of abstraction
Source
William Lycan (Consciousness [1987], 5.5)
Book Ref
Lycan,William G.: 'Consciousness' [MIT 1995], p.62
A Reaction
This seems to be true, and offers the reductionist a strategy for making inroads into the supposed irreducable and fundamental nature of qualia. What's it like to be a complex hierarchically structured multi-functional organism?
The
24 ideas
from 'Consciousness'
6527
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If energy in the brain disappears into thin air, this breaches physical conservation laws
[Lycan]
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6528
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In lower animals, psychology is continuous with chemistry, and humans are continuous with animals
[Lycan]
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6529
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I see the 'role'/'occupant' distinction as fundamental to metaphysics
[Lycan]
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6531
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Institutions are not reducible as types, but they are as tokens
[Lycan]
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6532
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Types cannot be reduced, but levels of reduction are varied groupings of the same tokens
[Lycan]
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6534
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One location may contain molecules, a metal strip, a key, an opener of doors, and a human tragedy
[Lycan]
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6533
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Mental types are a subclass of teleological types at a high level of functional abstraction
[Lycan]
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6535
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Teleological characterisations shade off smoothly into brutely physical ones
[Lycan]
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6530
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We reduce the mind through homuncular groups, described abstractly by purpose
[Lycan]
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6536
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Teleological functionalism helps us to understand psycho-biological laws
[Lycan]
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6539
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The distinction between software and hardware is not clear in computing
[Lycan]
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6537
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Teleological views allow for false intentional content, unlike causal and nomological theories
[Lycan]
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6538
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We need a notion of teleology that comes in degrees
[Lycan]
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6543
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Intentionality comes in degrees
[Lycan]
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6545
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If functionalism focuses on folk psychology, it ignores lower levels of function
[Lycan]
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6541
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Functionalism must not be too abstract to allow inverted spectrum, or so structural that it becomes chauvinistic
[Lycan]
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6542
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A Martian may exhibit human-like behaviour while having very different sensations
[Lycan]
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6544
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Identity theory is functionalism, but located at the lowest level of abstraction
[Lycan]
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6546
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Pain is composed of urges, desires, impulses etc, at different levels of abstraction
[Lycan]
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6547
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The right 'level' for qualia is uncertain, though top (behaviourism) and bottom (particles) are false
[Lycan]
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6548
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Physicalism requires the naturalisation or rejection of set theory
[Lycan]
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6549
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I think greenness is a complex microphysical property of green objects
[Lycan]
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6551
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'Physical' means either figuring in physics descriptions, or just located in space-time
[Lycan]
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6554
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Two behaviourists meet. The first says,"You're fine; how am I?"
[Lycan]
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