Philosophy of Mind - Notes
Lecture 1
Introduction & Substance Dualism
What is the conscious mind?
● The Mind-Body Problem
○ We are conscious beings with a mental life → we think, experience feelings,
we have wishes and fears, we make decisions
○ We are also physical creatures with physical bodies and powerful brains
○ So what is the relation between these two?
● Philosophy as conceptual analysis
○ We perceive the everyday world through our senses → this is called the
manifest world view
○ Scientific image of the world → we look at the world based on scientific
research
○ Conceptual analysis → philosophers ask “what do you mean by your concept
of culture, life, intelligence?
○ Conceptual analysis is one of the main methodological traditions within
Philosophy
○ How to use conceptual analysis → what is the relation between our manifest
world view and scientific world view
● Philosophy as conceptual clarification
○ Just like conceptual analysis, you ask what someone means by their concepts
(like the mind or memory)
○ But here, you look at science to find out more about these concepts
○ Example: short-term vs long-term memory → this is conceptual clarification
which is based on empirical evidence
● Philosophy as the science of validity
○ Scientists use many concepts, for example the concept of ‘causality’ →
usually we use the concept without asking questions about the concept
○ But are these concepts valid and can they be applied?
, ○ The role of the philosopher in this case, is to ask “is that actually a valid way
to use the concept?” and “can we actually infer causality from observed
correlations?”
● Philosophy as a training in changing your perspective
○ Train to become aware of other perspectives
○ This is necessary to take part in debates
● Philosophy as the search for truth
○ Ancient Greece: sophists → they weren’t concerned with truth, but rather with
winning an argument
○ Socrates argued against this practice → he argued that there is an objective
truth which Philosophers should seek to uncover
● Philosophy is all of the above
○ Maybe philosophy is all of this → we want to know what we mean by our
concepts, we want them to be valid, we sometimes need to change our
perspectives and in order to clarify them, we seek for an objective truth
● What is not philosophy?
○ Philosophy is not just chatting
○ Philosophy is not fact-free
○ It doesn’t require radical skepticism or pure relativism
Why philosophy for psychologists?
● Critical thinking → ethical issues, philosophy of science, foundational concepts
(“mind”, “intelligence”, “consciousness”)
The hard problem of consciousness
● On the one hand, people have dualist intentions → we tend to believe that our mind
and body are two different things that can exist independently from each other
● But also, we notice that they are also very much intertwined → we order a pizza
because we’re hungry or we feel pain because we sprained our ankle
What is the conscious mind?
● An initial classification: the mind has three characteristics
○ 1: Conscious experiences
, ■ Nagel: what-it-is-likeness → for example: what it’s like to be a bat =
echolocation
■ Another way to refer to this → we’re experiencing qualia: the
experience of seeing a strawberry and its red color (this is a red qualia
experience)
○ 2: Cognition
■ Propositional attitudes (PAs) = attitudes taken towards a proposition
● Example: John believes that it’s raining
■ Cognitive states have intentionality → it is about something
● Intentionality does not refer to intentions
■ Propositional attitudes are discrete entities → one propositional
attitude does not necessarily affect another propositional attitude
○ 3: Emotions
■ Emotions have a qualitative character but also intentionality
● Example: when you’re in love you feel butterflies (qualitative
character) but it is also about your loved one (intentionality)
The general problem
● How does the conscious mind fit in the physical world?
● Three subproblems:
○ 1. How do conscious experiences fit in the physical world?
○ 2: How do cognitive states fit in the physical world?
○ 3: How do emotions fit in the physical world?
● We can reduce these to two problems:
○ 1: How do qualia fit in the physical world?
○ 2: How does intentionality fit in the physical world?
Can the mind function separately from the body?
● Substance: that which can exist on its own
● Substance Dualism: consists of two substances
○ Res cogitans (thinking substance)
○ Res extensa (extended substance)
● René Descartes was the most famous proponent of substance dualism (SD)
, ● Descartes → Essential properties
○ Essential property of res cogitans = thinking
○ Essential property of res extensa = being extended (when something takes up
place in space)
○ According to Descartes, movement is the result of collisions between extended
objects
Descartes’ first method: Radical doubt
● He saw mathematics as the prototype of science → a foundation to build on
● What is a foundation you can’t doubt?
○ Can you be sure to trust your teachers? Can you be sure to trust your
observations?
● Descartes starts doubting everything until only one thing is left: cogito ergo sum → I
think therefore I am (he can’t doubt that he is doubting)
Descartes’ second method: Clear & distinct insights
● Descartes is, but what is he? → a res cogitans (a thinking substance)
○ Essential property: thinking → how does he know that he is thinking? → he
perceives this clearly and distinctly
● But how can Descartes be sure that his theory is true? → Because he has these clear
and distinct perceptions, there must be a good God who allows him to have these
thoughts
● After this, Descartes concludes that given his clear and distinct perceptions, he must
also be a body → a res extensa (a physical substance)
● So, Descartes realizes that he is both
The interaction problem
● Causal closure (CC) of the physical world: no energy (hence no mass) gets in or out
the system → every physical event has a physical cause
● If CC applies, non-physical (mental) causes seem to be impossible to understand
● “Patrick Swayze problem”: how can a non-physical substance (with no extension)
collide with the physical substance? → how can a soul with no physical substance
move around in a physical world
Lecture 1
Introduction & Substance Dualism
What is the conscious mind?
● The Mind-Body Problem
○ We are conscious beings with a mental life → we think, experience feelings,
we have wishes and fears, we make decisions
○ We are also physical creatures with physical bodies and powerful brains
○ So what is the relation between these two?
● Philosophy as conceptual analysis
○ We perceive the everyday world through our senses → this is called the
manifest world view
○ Scientific image of the world → we look at the world based on scientific
research
○ Conceptual analysis → philosophers ask “what do you mean by your concept
of culture, life, intelligence?
○ Conceptual analysis is one of the main methodological traditions within
Philosophy
○ How to use conceptual analysis → what is the relation between our manifest
world view and scientific world view
● Philosophy as conceptual clarification
○ Just like conceptual analysis, you ask what someone means by their concepts
(like the mind or memory)
○ But here, you look at science to find out more about these concepts
○ Example: short-term vs long-term memory → this is conceptual clarification
which is based on empirical evidence
● Philosophy as the science of validity
○ Scientists use many concepts, for example the concept of ‘causality’ →
usually we use the concept without asking questions about the concept
○ But are these concepts valid and can they be applied?
, ○ The role of the philosopher in this case, is to ask “is that actually a valid way
to use the concept?” and “can we actually infer causality from observed
correlations?”
● Philosophy as a training in changing your perspective
○ Train to become aware of other perspectives
○ This is necessary to take part in debates
● Philosophy as the search for truth
○ Ancient Greece: sophists → they weren’t concerned with truth, but rather with
winning an argument
○ Socrates argued against this practice → he argued that there is an objective
truth which Philosophers should seek to uncover
● Philosophy is all of the above
○ Maybe philosophy is all of this → we want to know what we mean by our
concepts, we want them to be valid, we sometimes need to change our
perspectives and in order to clarify them, we seek for an objective truth
● What is not philosophy?
○ Philosophy is not just chatting
○ Philosophy is not fact-free
○ It doesn’t require radical skepticism or pure relativism
Why philosophy for psychologists?
● Critical thinking → ethical issues, philosophy of science, foundational concepts
(“mind”, “intelligence”, “consciousness”)
The hard problem of consciousness
● On the one hand, people have dualist intentions → we tend to believe that our mind
and body are two different things that can exist independently from each other
● But also, we notice that they are also very much intertwined → we order a pizza
because we’re hungry or we feel pain because we sprained our ankle
What is the conscious mind?
● An initial classification: the mind has three characteristics
○ 1: Conscious experiences
, ■ Nagel: what-it-is-likeness → for example: what it’s like to be a bat =
echolocation
■ Another way to refer to this → we’re experiencing qualia: the
experience of seeing a strawberry and its red color (this is a red qualia
experience)
○ 2: Cognition
■ Propositional attitudes (PAs) = attitudes taken towards a proposition
● Example: John believes that it’s raining
■ Cognitive states have intentionality → it is about something
● Intentionality does not refer to intentions
■ Propositional attitudes are discrete entities → one propositional
attitude does not necessarily affect another propositional attitude
○ 3: Emotions
■ Emotions have a qualitative character but also intentionality
● Example: when you’re in love you feel butterflies (qualitative
character) but it is also about your loved one (intentionality)
The general problem
● How does the conscious mind fit in the physical world?
● Three subproblems:
○ 1. How do conscious experiences fit in the physical world?
○ 2: How do cognitive states fit in the physical world?
○ 3: How do emotions fit in the physical world?
● We can reduce these to two problems:
○ 1: How do qualia fit in the physical world?
○ 2: How does intentionality fit in the physical world?
Can the mind function separately from the body?
● Substance: that which can exist on its own
● Substance Dualism: consists of two substances
○ Res cogitans (thinking substance)
○ Res extensa (extended substance)
● René Descartes was the most famous proponent of substance dualism (SD)
, ● Descartes → Essential properties
○ Essential property of res cogitans = thinking
○ Essential property of res extensa = being extended (when something takes up
place in space)
○ According to Descartes, movement is the result of collisions between extended
objects
Descartes’ first method: Radical doubt
● He saw mathematics as the prototype of science → a foundation to build on
● What is a foundation you can’t doubt?
○ Can you be sure to trust your teachers? Can you be sure to trust your
observations?
● Descartes starts doubting everything until only one thing is left: cogito ergo sum → I
think therefore I am (he can’t doubt that he is doubting)
Descartes’ second method: Clear & distinct insights
● Descartes is, but what is he? → a res cogitans (a thinking substance)
○ Essential property: thinking → how does he know that he is thinking? → he
perceives this clearly and distinctly
● But how can Descartes be sure that his theory is true? → Because he has these clear
and distinct perceptions, there must be a good God who allows him to have these
thoughts
● After this, Descartes concludes that given his clear and distinct perceptions, he must
also be a body → a res extensa (a physical substance)
● So, Descartes realizes that he is both
The interaction problem
● Causal closure (CC) of the physical world: no energy (hence no mass) gets in or out
the system → every physical event has a physical cause
● If CC applies, non-physical (mental) causes seem to be impossible to understand
● “Patrick Swayze problem”: how can a non-physical substance (with no extension)
collide with the physical substance? → how can a soul with no physical substance
move around in a physical world
