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Single Idea 4987

[from 'Eliminative Materialism and Prop. Attitudes' by Paul M. Churchland, in 17. Mind and Body / E. Mind as Physical / 3. Eliminativism ]

Full Idea

Eliminative materialism says our common-sense conception of psychological phenomena is a radically false theory, so defective that both the principles and the ontology of that theory will eventually be displaced (rather than reduced).

Gist of Idea

Eliminative materialism says folk psychology will be replaced, not reduced

Source

Paul M. Churchland (Eliminative Materialism and Prop. Attitudes [1981], Intro)

Book Reference

'Mind and Cognition (2nd Edn)', ed/tr. Lycan,William [Blackwell 1999], p.120


A Reaction

It is hard to see what you could replace the idea of a 'belief' with in ordinary conversation. We may reduce beliefs to neuronal phenomena, but we can't drop the vocabulary of the macro-phenomena. The physics of weather doesn't eliminate 'storms'.